


Firstprince Prompts

by HMS_Chill



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anniversary, Cuddling, Domestic Fluff, Early Mornings, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff without Plot, In moderation, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Morning Kisses, Random & Short, Sleepy Cuddles, Sleepy Kisses, Snippets, Tickle Fights, Tickling, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also angst, just pure fluff, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 38,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23201530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HMS_Chill/pseuds/HMS_Chill
Summary: (This was “road trip drabbles”, but as it’s sort of become less a set of short fics from a road trip and more a landing site/home for answered tumblr prompts, it felt appropriate to shift the title to reflect that. Apologies for any confusion!)A series of unrelated Alex/Henry prompts from folks on Tumblr 😊Recent prompts:- “About the baby… Its yours.” / “Do you believe in aliens?” / “Do you believe in ghosts?”- “I don’t deserve to be loved.”- Cat Dad Alex- listening to someone's heartbeat or breathing- inside jokes- helping people vote- snow day
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 539
Kudos: 634





	1. “You... you can’t go. Please?”

It is far, far too early when Alex’s alarm goes off. He turns it off and rolls over to see Henry’s sleeping face, his hair wild. There’s something magical about watching a prince drool into a pillow, and Alex has never been more tempted to ignore every responsibility he has and stay right where he is. But the fact remains that he’s supposed to be going to DC today, officially for a family visit but unofficially to bother Raf for gossip. He starts an internship with a state congresswoman next week, and he wants to go into it fully prepared. 

He presses a kiss to Henry’s forehead, then rolls over and pushes back sheets. He’s starting to sit up when he feels a tug at his wrist. It’s Henry’s hand. He turns back to see Henry looking overwhelmingly soft in the morning light, just starting to rub the sleep out of his eyes. 

“You... you can’t leave now,” he says, and he’s interrupted by a massive yawn before adding, “please?” 

Alex opens his mouth, but he can’t find any words in his brain. Not when Henry’s looking at him like that, eyes the color of bluebells still bleary with sleep. He looks so warm, so cozy, so open. This is a version of Henry that no one else ever gets to see, a version so special it’s sacred. Henry tugs at his hand, then presses a kiss to it gently, mumbling, “Dear Saint, let lips do what hands do.” 

And really, if Alex didn’t already know that getting up right now would be sinful, that’s enough to convince him. He texts Cash that he’s a bit slow getting ready this morning but will let him know when he’s ready. Cash can tell the pilot, and maybe he’ll appreciate some extra time in the morning, too. 

With that done, he puts his phone down and climbs back under the covers, pressing a kiss to Henry’s forehead before meeting his lips. Henry smiles, mumbling, “thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged.” 

And god. Alex has completely forgotten why he ever dreamed of getting up, leaving behind this incredible person who can quote Shakespeare at ungodly hours, who’s nuzzling into his shoulder and pressing a kiss to the place where it meets his neck. He can’t remember why he ever thought he had the willpower to miss a morning with Henry or why he’d ever miss the opportunity to wake Henry up. Whoever he’d been when he thought he could stand a morning when he didn’t play with Henry’s hair and trail lazy kisses across his face clearly wasn’t thinking straight (though, really, he’s never thinking straight when it comes to Henry). 

Eventually, he does pull himself away. He presses a last kiss to Henry’s forehead, then starts their coffee and tea, texting Cash that he’s close to ready before going back up to the bedroom. It’s a Herculean task not to climb back into bed, but he gets ready for the day, then goes to finish their morning drinks, putting his in a thermos and bringing Henry’s up to their bedroom. He sets it down beside Henry, stealing a last, reverent kiss as he gets his weekender. Henry is awake enough now to thank him, and to wish him a good trip with an ‘I love you’ tacked on the end. And, god, the fact that he gets to come home to this means Alex is the luckiest man alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quotes on this are from Romeo and Juliet, act 1, scene 5. It’s the first time they meet; they share a sonnet and a half that boils down to “I adore you, you’re a saint, let’s make out”.  
> —  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all; stay safe out there!


	2. You’re ticklish

Alex wants to make their first anniversary special. Henry is a massive sap, which means roses and champagne and love letters, and he deserves no less than the best of everything. So Alex is pulling out all the stops, including a very, very special night. 

That is, he was planning on a special night. He’s given Henry a gift, a book of gay love letters, but he was planning on a nice gift in the bedroom, too. Unfortunately, he’s interrupted about halfway through trailing kisses down his front. He blows a raspberry into Henry’s stomach, and he lets out a decidedly unprincely squawk. Alex looks up in surprise, a smile slowly spreading across his face. 

“H? Are you ticklish?” 

“Of course not. The crown stopped being ticklish around George III.” 

“You are! You’re ticklish!” Alex puts his face back into Henry’s stomach, blowing the biggest raspberry he can manage, and Henry squeals, shoving him away with a bark of laughter. Alex is laughing now, too, and any trace of the sexy atmosphere has completely evaporated. It’s become all-out war in minutes; Alex pushing through pillow and blanket barricades as soon as Henry can build them. He’s screaming, and Alex is laughing, thanking his lucky stars that they’re alone in the house as they wear each other out and cuddle together for the rest of the night, Alex occasionally getting in another tickle as Henry calls him a demon.

The next morning, they wake up to tangled bedsheets and Nora’s voice. “What the hell did y’all get up to last night?” 

“Why are you here?”

“June, Pez, and I are making you an anniversary brunch. We told you. You gave us a key for this. I repeat: what the hell happened here last night?” 

“Sexy times. Wild, wild sexy times.” 

“Y’all are nasty; breakfast is waiting when you get up. Love you.” 

She’s gone, and Alex rolls over to press a kiss to Henry’s forehead. 

“Think she believed you?” Henry asks. Alex smiles. 

“Not a chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all; stay safe out there!


	3. “You saw me?” “When don’t I see you?”

It’s almost cute how Henry thinks he can be sneaky. How he doesn’t realize that Alex is drawn to him like a compass is drawn north, doesn’t realize that some part of Alex’s brain is always aware of where he is. It’s cute how he thinks Alex didn’t see right through it when he said he wasn’t going to be able to make it to his thesis presentation, and it’s even cuter how he thinks he can slip in the back without being noticed. As if a baseball cap and hoodie could ever disguise him from Alex. 

So Alex presents his thesis, and he fields questions with a smile, then bee lines for Henry as soon as the panel meets to discuss it. He’s over by the punch, and Alex approaches with a smile and a, “Thought you said the crown was keeping you busy today.” 

“Alex! You did wonderfully. Did I surprise you?” 

“Not at all. Cute that you tried, though.”

“You saw me?” 

“Baby, when don’t I see you? In a room of a million people, you will be all I see.” 

“I love you,” Henry says, and Alex grins, wrapping him in a hug. 

“I love you, too. Thank you for coming.” 

“Would it surprise you if I said I’ve got dinner planned?” 

“Is it reservations at that crepe place by the brownstone, outside so we can bring David?”

“Damnit.” 

Alex laughs, and he’s still grinning when one of the panelists appears at the door and says, “Dr. Claremont-Diaz?” 

Henry cheers so loud Alex thinks maybe he’s going to go deaf, but he’s grinning. 

“Maybe I was wrong; I had no idea you could scream that loud,” he says, grinning, and he hears Henry’s laughter follow him into the room for critique. 

Later, Henry surprises him again with a big crowd of friends and family at their favorite crepe place. And he tries again, but when they get home to a nice wine and a fancy bath, Alex is fully expecting it, and he’s fully expecting to enjoy every moment of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all; stay safe out there!


	4. Sleepy “I love you”

It happens in Paris, when they’ve rearranged their schedules to be together and they’re falling asleep together for the first time. Alex has his eyes closed, is focusing on deep breaths, half-asleep when he hears it. Henry says, barely above a whisper, “I love you.” 

It takes every ounce of willpower he has not to react. But he keeps his breathing even, keeps his eyes closed. Henry’s asleep before too long, and that’s when Alex opens his eyes to see the prince of Wales asleep on the pillow next to him. He’s never seen Henry like this. He’s never imagined the way he can already see a cowlick forming or the fact that Henry holds onto blankets like they’re creatures that could run away. He couldn’t have imagined any of this a few months ago, when Henry had first kissed him under the linden tree out back of the White house. He couldn’t have imagined Henry’s quiet confession then, either. But Henry had kissed him, had been drunk and tired, his inhibitions down. 

By 1 AM, he’s finished processing that Henry loves him and is starting to wonder what that might mean for him. Should he let Henry know he heard? Does he feel the same way?

He thinks about June’s magazine, how he used to stare at Henry’s picture. He thinks about the time spent reading Henry’s Wikipedia page, studying up and learning everything he could, staring at the few candid pictures he could find on Pez’s and Bea’s instagrams. If he takes that Henry and the Henry snoring beside him and compares them to the Henry who was an ass to him at the Olympics and the Henry who gets his picture taken on dates with girls, his politician’s brain starts to put the pieces together. 

He starts to see a man who wears a tux like it’s a suit of armor. A man who steps out onto a battlefield every day, protecting himself from a million cameras and snide comments and nasty rumors. And, around 2 AM, he notices a crease between that man’s eyebrows and presses a kiss to it. Someone who worries so much when he’s awake shouldn’t worry when he’s asleep, too. 

Really, given how late into the night he stays awake realizing he’s in love, it’s no wonder Henry wakes up first. But even as Alex wakes up to an empty bed, he wakes up to the name of a French cheese shop and a sparking warmth in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all; stay safe out there!


	5. Alex’s competency kink

They’re all in Nora’s, June’s, and Pez’s hotel room, lying on their bed while the Americans spend the afternoon recovering from jet lag when Henry suggests they order room service. He calls down, placing the order in perfect French, and. Well. If that isn’t something. Alex realizes he’s staring when Henry winks at him, and Pez laughs, “See something you like?” 

Nora’s on her phone, but she still beats him to a response. “What? Alex likes dudes who speak French. This is old news, y’all.” 

“What do you mean?” Henry’s hung up, which means he’s joining the conversation, and oh god. 

“Oh, has he not told you about the videos of Justin Treadou?” 

Henry gives Alex a look, and Alex opens his mouth to protest that it was one time, but Nora once again beats him to the punch. 

“He likes to watch videos of Jusin Trudeau speaking French.” 

“That was one time!” 

“Yeah, then he did the whole blackface thing and you switched to videos of Hozier speaking Irish. And those French movies.”

“Is it a crime to be interested in other cultures?” 

“Tell me the plot of a single French movie you watched, Alex,” June says. “I know for a fact you have subtitles turned off on your Netflix; you told me once that you would rather die than read your movies.” 

“Yeah, well, that was before Parasite showed me the error of my ways. I’ve learned. I’m cultured; it’s cool.”

“You’re scrambling,” Nora says. “Just admit you’re turned on when people are good at stuff. Back when we were dating— don’t fake vomit; you asked me out, dumbass— you used to ask me to explain math in bed. It’s one of the reasons I dumped you.” 

Alex is blushing as Henry hugs him, and he hides his face in Henry’s shoulder as Henry kisses the back of his head. 

“I think it’s cute. Mon ange.” 

Alex grumbles, the others laugh, and everything feels alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all; stay safe out there!


	6. “You fainted. You said you were okay.”

When Alex wakes up, his head is pounding. That’s alright; he can close his eyes and move closer to Henry and cuddle up with him, and if that doesn’t make it stop, at least it’ll make everything better for a bit. But when he rolls over onto Henry’s side of the bed, Henry’s not there. That’s not alright. He opens his eyes, and as he begins to wake up more, he realizes that he can smell bacon. Henry’s in the kitchen. So Alex heaves himself out of bed and makes his way to the kitchen, the bright sunlight coming through the windows making his headache worse.

The whole room feels slightly fuzzy, but there’s Henry. Alex plods across the kitchen as Henry turns, and Alex plants his face directly into Henry’s chest. Henry laughs, and Alex feels it radiate through his forehead, a better medicine for his headache than anything he could imagine.

“Hi, love. Morning. How are you feeling?”

Alex grumbles, and Henry chuckles. He pets Alex’s hair until Alex looks up at him, bleary-eyed, and Henry leans down to press a kiss to his forehead. When he pulls back a bit, he looks worried.

“You’re burning up.”

Alex’s only response is a grumble that could only be considered speech by a vast stretch of the imagination. After a moment, he peels himself off Henry and starts toward the coffee maker. Henry grabs his arm.

“Are you feeling alright?”

Alex’s head is pounding, and he’s exhausted, but coffee will fix both those things. He nods.

“I’m okay. Just tired and... warm from bed.”

Henry still looks worried, but he lets go. Alex starts coffee brewing, and Henry turns back to the bacon. Alex goes to stand behind him, resting his head on Henry’s shoulder and using his boyfriend as an anchor to make the room stop feeling like he’s swimming through it. Henry says something, but rather than hearing it, Alex feels it in his chest and his arms where they’re wrapped around Henry’s waist. He doesn’t respond, just nestles into Henry’s shoulder and closes his eyes. He’s so, so tired, and everything feels so very, very far away.

The next thing he knows, his cheek is pressed up against something firm, his head cradled. The rest of his body is on something hard and cool. Henry’s saying something, and it all starts to feel closer as time goes on. Henry’s talking to someone. He’s scared. That’s not right; Henry shouldn’t be scared. Alex opens his eyes slowly, and when everything comes into focus against the bright sunlight, Henry is the first thing he sees. His head is in Henry’s lap, and Henry’s on his phone, but he’s got an arm on Alex’s chest in a gentle hug. Alex turns his head to press a kiss to Henry’s bicep, and Henry looks down, visibly relaxing. He says something Alex doesn’t catch into his phone, then hangs up and turns all his attention to Alex. He still looks scared, and Alex can’t have that. He reaches up to give Henry’s hand a squeeze. 

“What’s... you’re scared. No.”

“I’m... of bloody course I’m scared; you fainted. You said you were okay.”

“I am. Just... tired.”

“You’re not okay; you’re burning up. Cash will be here in a few minutes with a thermometer and some meds, and we’re getting you back to bed, and you’re staying home today. I’ll call you in sick as soon as we get you taken care of.”

“I’m okay. I just... just need some coffee, and I’ll be fine. I’ve got stuff to do; my internship with the congresswoman--”

“They can wait. You don’t want to get someone else sick,” Henry says. Alex deflates a little. Henry runs a hand through his hair, and he really is tired, so he lets his eyes droop a bit. He’ll just lie here until Cash comes, and then he’ll fight Cash until they let him go to work anyway.

The next thing he knows, he’s waking up in bed, his head on Henry’s chest and the opening theme of The Great British Bake Off playing. The world feels less fuzzy, and his head isn’t pounding anymore. He opens his eyes and sits up just enough to see the TV, and Henry wraps an arm around his shoulders. And maybe, just maybe, staying in for a day is a good decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not to cheat, but this isn't from the road trip. It's just another prompt from Tumblr that I wanted here, too.


	7. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen"

It’s not exactly rare that Henry wakes up before Alex. It’s happened before, especially when Alex’s class schedule was skewed later in the day or when he’s been up late working. More often than not, though, they wake up to the same alarm, grumbling at each other until someone turns it off.

But eight AM in London is three AM in New York, and though Henry’s been here for a few days and has adjusted, Alex is still on New York time. So this morning, Henry wakes up with Alex’s arm flung across his neck, Alex’s leg draped across his legs, Alex’s foot hanging off the edge of the bed. It takes him a second to find Alex’s face, turned away from the pillow and half-buried in his own t-shirt. The shirt he’d pulled on when he got cold is Henry’s, and it’s both inside out and backwards. Alex is drooling into the expensive sheets, snoring, his hair sticking up in every direction.

Henry texts to ask the kitchen to send up breakfast, and he can’t resist taking a picture before pressing a gentle kiss to Alex’s cheek. Alex snorts. It’s more adorable than it should be.

When breakfast arrives, Henry reaches up to thread his fingers through Alex’s and moves the arm off his neck and up to his mouth, pressing gentle kisses along it.

“Alex, love, it’s time to get up,” he says, extracting his other hand from under Alex’s shoulders to run it through his hair. Alex makes a series of grunted, muffled waking up sounds, then his head flops over so he’s facing Henry, his free hand coming up to rub at his eyes.

The morning sunlight filters through the leaves of the trees and the gauzy curtains to settle on Alex’s face, illuminating him like a saint. His hair is absolutely hopeless, and there’s drool on his chin, an eyelash on his cheek. His eyes are barely open, bits of sleep sand crusted in the corners. Henry is so in love he almost forgets to breathe with the sheer force of it.

Alex grunts something that only Henry could identify as a question, and almost reverently, Henry says, “You're the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

Because it’s true. This Alex, the Alex who has drool on his chin and sleep sand in his eyes and the wrong shirt on backward, who is just as much of a mess as anyone, is the most stunning thing Henry can imagine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like to think that, when not cuddled just right, Alex sleeps like a fuckin starfish. Arms and legs everywhere, blatant disregard for the orientation of the bed/blankets. I also like to think he’s fallen out of bed on at least one occasion and pushed Henry out on another.  
> -  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	8. "You are enough"/ "Thank you for being you"

Henry’s not sure what time he wakes up, but there are two fewer Bake Off contestants than he remembers, and Alex still isn’t in bed with him. He turns off the TV and reaches for his phone, blinking as the screen lights up with the power of a thousand suns. When his eyes adjust a bit, it’s 2:43 AM. Alex said he’d be in by one, since they’re both trying to fix their sleep schedules, but between school and his internship, Alex is having a harder time of it. Henry sighs, shoving off the blankets and rubbing David’s ears where he’s sleeping at the end of the bed as he makes his way down the hall to their joint office. The light is still on, spilling out of the open doorway. Alex is there, bent over a book in the light of his desk lamp, seemingly oblivious to the night outside. Henry comes to rub his shoulders, trying to ease the tension out of them, and Alex leans back with a sigh, his head flopping back onto Henry’s chest.

“Hen? You’re... you’re up; what time is it?”

“Almost three. I missed you.”

He can feel Alex’s shoulders droop just a little, but he says, “I’ve just got to finish this. I’ll be there soon.”

“What are you working on?”

“It’s a grant proposal for work. We’re trying to get a free lunch program together for the community center in the summer, and I just want to make sure this is perfect. We need to make sure that kids get food, and parents, too, and I... I want to make sure they’re not just keeping me around for my last name.”

He doesn’t need to say anything about how much he loves the congresswoman he’s working for, or about how important her causes are to him, or how much he worries that no one will correct him or challenge him because he’s the president’s son. He doesn’t have to mention how afraid he is that he wasn’t hired because of his resume, but because of his mom. Henry knows, probably better than most people, how it feels to be someone that other people see as untouchable. So instead of addressing the fears he can’t do anything about, he kisses the top of Alex’s head and says, “I’ll look over it in the morning if you come to bed now.”

“Yeah, one minute, I just have to do this one thing...” Alex is already starting to shift back into work mode, and he could be here for the rest of the night if Henry doesn’t do something. So he starts to spin the desk chair, and despite Alex’s dragging feet, Henry manages to get him turned away from the desk before he says, “Come to bed, please? You’ve done enough. You... you’re enough. Just you, and all the beautiful, messy, earnest things about you. That’s enough for me, and for everyone who matters. You don’t have to prove you care, or that you’re good, or anything else. We know.”

Alex just sits with that for a long moment, letting it sink in before he takes off his glasses and rubs a hand over his face. Henry pulls him up and into a hug, and he can feel Alex relaxing a bit.

“Thank you. For... for getting me, physically now and... you know, just in general. And for understanding, and not... being disappointed when I mess up. I know we said we’d be better about going to bed on time, and I know I’m not. I’m trying, I swear, but it... it’s hard, so thank you for helping. And making me take care of myself. And being patient, and willing to proofread my three AM writing, and just being... everything you are. Thank you for being you,” Alex says. He yawns, and lets Henry take his glasses and set them on the desk. 

“I love you. I love how much you care. I love your drive, and your work ethic, and your massive, massive heart.”

Alex mumbles something about how his heart isn’t his only massive organ into Henry’s shoulder, but Henry opts to ignore it, starting them toward the bathroom. Rather than letting go, Alex just stumbles backward, still wrapped around Henry like an increasingly tired, increasingly cuddly koala. Henry rubs his back and gets him to the bathroom to brush a day’s worth of coffee residue off his teeth, and when Henry starts to turn back to go to bed, Alex grabs for him. So Henry stays close until he’s finished and ready to sleep, and when he is, Henry tugs hom toward the bed and they fall in together, Alex tucking himself under the blanket and into Henry’s arms. Back in his undergrad, before Henry, Alex would have been up all night. But now, he’s asleep in Henry’s arms, and Henry is only awake long enough to kiss his forehead before he’s fallen asleep, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In conjunction with my ‘Alex sleeps like a starfish’ theory, I present ‘Alex becomes an aggressive cuddler when he’s tired’.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	9. "Watching you grow is the best"

When they’d moved into the brownstone, Alex and Henry had agreed on a shared office. They’d originally planned on having separate ones, but when they kept wandering into each other’s because they got lonely on their first day, they’d realized that a joint office really was a better choice. So when Alex turns around to see if Henry’s interested in ordering food-- Alex is feeling Thai, but he’s flexible-- he’s met with his own face on Henry’s screen. He’s younger, and after a second, he sees a younger Henry, too.

“What ‘cha doin?” he asks, and Henry turns almost guiltily.

“I was doing research. This is an article on queer politicians and public figures, but then it had this picture, and I... I don’t even remember there being a photographer nearby, but I was just... thinking.”

Alex sits on his lap to get a better view of the picture: himself and Henry, aged eighteen and nineteen, shaking hands in Rio.

“Sort of hard to believe how long ago that was,” Alex says. “How much was different.”

Henry nods. “I... I was a different person entirely. Or maybe not entirely, but I... I guess maybe I am entirely different. Cells only last so long, if that’s what we’re measuring, so you know--” Alex carefully threads hs fingers through Henry’s, rubbing his thumb along the back of Henry’s hand and letting him talk his way to, “I guess I just... everything is different now. And it’s so much better. And I... you know I want to grow old with you, but I’m not sure I ever really thought about what that would mean. I mean, I know we’ll grow physically, I just... hadn’t thought about growing other ways. And if I can change this much since Rio, if you’ve made me so much better this quickly, I just... I can’t even imagine how much better you’ll make me in the future.”

Alex hugs him at that, and Henry laughs a bit. “I love you,” Alex says. “I love how much you think about things. I love your brain and how it’s smart. And I love how much you’ve grown. It’s... I wasn’t even there for most of it, but just since we met for real, you’re... you’re so much more you than you were. You don’t feel like a robot’s wearing your skin anymore, you feel like you.”

Henry laughs at that, and Alex smiles up at him as Henry says, “You’ve grown too, you know. You’re looking after yourself better, and you’re learning to slow down. When you tell me about high school especially, sometimes it hurts because I couldn’t be there to help you, but it’s also just... so clear that you’re doing better now. And even since we met, you’ve learned to take your time with things and appreciate them more. You’re... you’re better, I think, than you were. Happier.”

Alex nods. He turns back to the picture, to the Alex who’s grinning but was up almost the entire night before trying to learn Portuguese in two days, and the Henry who’s smiling the press smile that Alex has always hated. Then, he reaches across Henry’s desk for the framed picture of the two of them at pride just a few months ago. Henry’s hair is dyed rainbow colors with a dye that wasn’t quite as temporary as they’d thought, and he’d had to resort to hats for two days afterward while Alex shampooed his hair as thoroughly as possible every night until it came out. The Alex in the picture is covered in so much glitter that they’re still finding it in the carpet or washing machine, and he’s feeding Henry a sno cone, and they’re open and happy and in love. the Alex who’s sitting in Henry’s lap smiles, then sets the picture on Henry’s laptop keyboard, right next to the one from Rio. 

“Hard to believe we’re the same people,” Henry says, and Alex nods.

“Maybe we’re not anymore. But that just means we grew, and it’s been... amazing. Watching you grow is the best.”

“Yes, well, you haven’t gotten to watch yourself grow.”

Alex is going to say something equally sweet, but his stomach growls, so what comes out is, “can we get takeout tonight?”

Henry laughs, and hugs him close, and agrees that yes, takeout sounds great.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	10. "Why do you think you're not worth taking care of?"

Henry wakes up coughing, and the first thing Alex says to him is, “you’re sick.”

“I’m fine.” It’s not the first time they’ve had this argument, and it won’t be the last.

“You’re clearly not. You pulled a muscle coughing.”

“And so long as I don’t do it again, I’ll be alright.”

“Henry, look at me. Just... admit you’re sick and stay in for the day so I can bring you tea and honey and-- no. No getting up.” Alex reaches to grab Henry’s hand, but Henry ignores him, sitting on the edge of the bed and trying to get himself ready to get up and face the day.

“I can’t make you stay in, or make other people pick up my job at work, or let the kids down. I’m fine.”

“You’re not. And you won’t be until you stop-- no. Please, Henry, just let us help.” Henry’s standing now, and Alex is up almost immediately, coming around the bed to Henry’s side. Henry just shakes his head.

“No; it’s not worth--” he’s cut off by a coughing fit that has him almost doubled over, hand on the side where he’d pulled a muscle. It scrapes along his throat and makes the ache in his chest worse, leaving him gasping for air.

Alex moves to hug him, but Henry pushes him away, worried about getting him sick. He’s been like this a week now, and he doesn’t want Alex to catch whatever he has.

“H, please. It is worth it. Why do you think you’re not worth being taken care of?”

“It’s just not worth bothering anyone; it’s just a cold.” And it is just a cold. It has to be. Even if his head is always pounding and he’s always tired, if every cough feels like his body is trying to eject a lung, he’s just got a bad cold. He coughs one more time and allows himself a single grimace at the pain in his side, but when he looks up with a carefully neutral face, Alex has tears in his eyes. Henry wants so badly to wipe them away, but he’s trying to be careful not to touch Alex’s face.

“It... I really am alright,” Henry says, but Alex shakes his head. He tries to hug him again, but Henry won’t let him, even if it breaks both their hearts.

“No, you... you’re not alright. Please, just... let me take you to a doctor? And if they say you’re fine, we can both drop it, but otherwise, you’ll listen and let me help? Please?”

Henry weighs his options there. If a doctor says it’s just a cold, Alex will stop worrying. It’ll be a relatively quick appointment; he can make up the time he’ll miss at work. So he nods, and he follows Alex to the car.

An hour later, they’re getting back in the car to go from the urgent care to a hospital for chest x-rays to decide if Henry has pneumonia. It’s a tense ride, the only sounds the radio and Henry’s hacking cough. At one point, Alex reaches over to squeeze his knee. 

They leave the hospital two hours later with a pneumonia diagnosis, a prescription, and a doctor’s confusion about why they didn’t come in sooner. She’d told Henry on no uncertain terms that he’s to stay home for the rest of the week.

Alex is the one to break the silence, because of course he is. But it isn’t to gloat, or to badger Henry, or to be upset that he’s let himself get this bad or wasted so much of their time. It’s simply to say, “I texted Bea, and she said you usually do green tea with honey and lemon when you’re not feeling well? And then I thought maybe I could make a big pot of chicken noodle soup, since that’s supposed to be good when you’re sick? I’ll have to pick up your prescription and I could get the ingredients, and then you could reheat it when you’re hungry if I have to go to class or something.”

“You don’t have to; I--”

“I want to. Please?”

Alex is driving, so he can’t look for long, but Henry can feel his boyfriend studying him, trying to read him and figure out what’s wrong. Henry’s not entirely sure himself; all he knows is that his sickness has never been anything but a nuisance to be ignored when possible or dealt with on his own. Having someone try to take care of him is new.

“I’m not... not very good at being looked after,” he says eventually. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” There’s a moment, then Alex asks, “you... you know I love you, right?” He’s trying to stay casual, but Henry knows him too well for that, and the genuine worry in the question breaks his heart.

“Of course I do.”

“Okay. I just... I’m kind of scared you don’t. Because if I was this sick, then you’d want me to try to get better, because you love me. And I... I know that you love me, so I... I think... fuck, H, it just hurts to see you hurt. And now you’re so... I don’t know if you’re scared to let me help you, or... I don’t know what’s going on, and I’m kind of scared, and I want... I just want you to feel better, and I don’t know how to make that happen.”

“I’m... I’m not sure, either. I... I’ve not been looked after when I’m sick for a long time. Between boarding school, and uni, and Mum being, you know, and everyone always being busy, it’s been lots of just... ignoring things, or taking care of it alone so no one else has to get sick and miss more important things. I don’t mean to push you away. I’m just.. I’m not used to this. To being looked after when I’m sick, I mean.” Alex’s hand finds Henry’s knee again, and he squeezes.

“If it wouldn’t maybe kill us, I’d give you the biggest hug right now.”

Henry laughs a bit, and as it turns into a cough, he realizes it’s the first time he’s laughed in days. Alex smiles at him, and Henry smiles back. Maybe he’s not used to being looked after, but maybe he can learn. He can learn to accept that he’s important to people, maybe even more important than a meeting or a job or appearance. And after all, the doctor did say that Alex has already been exposed to whatever Henry has. Maybe, he’ll be able to convince Alex to stay in too. 

They get home, and Alex gets Henry into bed with the promise to come back with meds and soup. When he comes back half an hour later, Henry is able to convince him to come to bed, and as Alex emails the shelter to let them know Henry’s sick and will be out for the week, Henry gets to fall asleep with Alex’s hand on his hair, his head resting against Alex’s hip. Maybe, this whole ‘being taken care of’ thing isn’t so hard after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	11. "I can’t believe I let this happen.” / “Get away from me!” / “You know I would never hurt you.”  / “Why didn’t you tell me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick trigger warning for referenced gun violence and a relatively vague description of a panic attack. It's no worse than the book's reference to one, but just a heads up!

Alex is late. Again. Normally it wouldn’t bother him too much; most of the people in his life have just learned to let it slide when he’s slipping into the back of a lecture or coming into a meeting in progress in a bit of a panic. But, well. This is different. This is Henry. It’s Henry and the shelter, and he’d promised to be there early to help set up, but now he’ll be lucky to be on time, and no matter how much he blames his professors or the MTA or anyone else, he knows it’s his own fault. He’d forgotten to set an alarm to make himself stop working, and he’d forgotten to watch the clock or just be on top of things. But he didn’t, and now he’s let Henry down again, and he only has himself to blame, and he feels awful.

Henry’s already on stage when Alex arrives, speaking about the importance of the youth shelter and the services it provides to a crowd who are loving it. Alex settles in, leaning against a post in the wings to listen. He loves seeing Henry like this. He’s so beautifully confident, so overwhelmingly sure of what he’s doing, so clearly passionate about the shelter. And Alex loves him so much. He’s such an amazing person, and Alex is so wrapped up in watching him shine that he doesn’t pay attention to anything else. He doesn’t hear the man coming up behind him, doesn’t realize he’s in trouble before he hears Cash shout at him to duck. He does without hesitation, dropping to the floor as a gunshot goes off above him. Henry flinches forward a bit, and people start to scream, but that doesn’t cover the sound of a second gunshot going off over Alex’s head. At that one, Henry lets out a shout, pressing a hand to his side even as he’s urging people to stay calm and not shove each other. Even as Alex watches his legs give out, Henry is clinging to the podium and begging people to look out for each other as he crumples to the ground. Alex is moving before he’s even sure what’s happening, before he can process anything. He doesn’t care, he just needs--

His eyes meet Henry’s, and in a voice far too calm for the situation, Henry says, “Alex, get away from me.”

Alex freezes in his tracks, and he watches as Henry’s eyes close, watches as Amy gets to him and picks him up, his head flopping loosely back as she carries his limp body off stage. Alex is vaguely aware of people moving around him, of shouting and running, but he can’t stop staring at the puddle of Henry’s blood at the foot of the podium. It’s a black stage, too solid to let anything soak into it. So the blood sits on the surface, reflecting the sunlight far too cheerily as it slowly dries into a slightly darker patch of stage.

Before it’s dried completely, there’s a hand on his shoulder, and Cash is getting him up and into a car. Someone’s in the driver’s seat, and Cash sits in the back with Alex. The minute the door is closed behind them, the pull away, and Cash looks Alex in the eye to ask, “are you hurt?”

Alex shakes his head automatically. After a moment, Cash pulls him in for a hug, and a choked sob claws its way out of Alex’s throat. 

“I... he told me to--” he can’t repeat it. It’s been playing on repeat in his mind ever since. He can’t let himself think about what might be happening to Henry, refuses to allow himself to even imagine that Henry might not recover, so spiralling about being told to go away is somehow the safest, sanest option here.

“He wanted you safe,” Cash says. And that makes sense, but Cash hadn’t seen Henry’s face. He doesn’t know how much this event meant to Henry, how important it was that Alex was there to support him. 

Cash doesn’t know that they’d talked about the possibility of Alex turning up late. He hadn’t been there when Alex asked how important he really was to the success of the event, and how at dinner Henry had said it didn’t matter. Cash wasn’t there in bed the night before, when Alex called Henry’s bluff, and when Henry explained how he’s always felt like he had to face things like this by himself, but having Alex there makes it easier. Cash doesn’t know that having Alex nearby before an event calms Henry down enough that he can actually focus on the event, or that Alex had listened, then taken Henry’s hand and said, “why did you ever tell me I could miss things? Why didn’t you tell me all this? I’ll be there early, because I love you, I swear.”

Cash doesn’t know how badly he’d let Henry down today, and he doesn’t know how much Alex had risked just to get there late and let Henry down anyway. He doesn’t know that Alex had gotten into a subway car just as it was leaving the station, knowing that his security team would have to wait six minutes for the next one, doesn’t know that Alex had booked it to the venue instead of waiting for them like he was supposed to. Cash had been there on time, helping get things set up and probably doing Alex’s job of looking after Henry. He can’t know.

“I... it’s my fault. I was running late, so I was in a rush and I lost my team, and I... I must have picked up a tail. I forgot to watch the time. It’s all my fault, and now...”

“It’s not. It’s not your fault,” Cash says, hugging him closer. “You didn’t make him trail you, you didn’t make him want to hurt you. You didn’t let him get close enough to shoot. That... none of that was your fault. But we’re going to be at the hospital soon. Amy’s beat us here, so Henry’s in surgery. Are you alright to go into a waiting room, or would you rather drive around for a bit to calm down?”

“No, we... can we go in?” Cash nods, and when they pull up outside, he guides Alex into a waiting room. Alex processes vaguely that he’s shaking. Cash says something about his family being on their way, but it’ll take some time before they can get here.

Shaan appears, and he looks as disheveled as Alex feels. Well, the top button of his shirt is unbuttoned and he has at least four hairs out of place, but for Shaan, that’s got to be the equivalent to Alex’s shaking hands and bouncing knee. He comes to sit next to Alex, and he says it’ll be alright, but Alex can’t imagine how he knows that. 

Alex has no idea how long they sit there. At some point, he tries to make a list:

1\. Henry told him to go away.  
2\. Henry has just been shot.  
3\. The shooter was clearly coming for Alex, and he clearly followed Alex to the event, where he then shot Henry.  
4\. Henry is currently in surgery, because he was shot, because Alex was running late and ditched his security and let a shooter tail him to an event.  
5\. “Get away from me” might be the last thing Henry ever says to him.

He stops trying to count after that. He paces instead, then gives up on that, too. Cash brings lunch, but he’s too worried to eat. He wants to search the hospital for Henry, wants to shake someone into telling him something, but that won’t do any good.

A million lifetimes later, he’s mid-pace when Cash’s hand lands on his shoulder, pulling him out of his head.

“He’s out of surgery. It’s going to take some time, but the doctor expects him to make a full recovery.”

For the second time today, Alex hugs Cash, hard. Cash hugs him back, then says, “He’s not awake yet, but we can go in if you’re ready.”

And with that, all of Alex’s other fears come crashing back into him. Henry’d said he should go away. He’d messed up. He was late, despite having promised he’d be there early to help. He’d brought a tail to the event, and he could have killed someone. It’s his fault any of this happened. And Henry had told him to get away. Maybe, Henry doesn’t want to see him anymore.

“I... maybe Shaan, but I... I’m not sure he wants me,” Alex says finally, and he knows his hands are shaking, and he realizes that maybe he’s on the verge of a panic attack, and maybe he’s been on the verge of a panic attack for a long time. Cash just hugs him, and keeps him upright when he body wants to fall into a puddle of fear on the floor of the waiting room. And Alex plants his face into Cash’s chest and tries to take deep breaths, tries not to focus on the fact that Henry might hate him, tries to ignore the fact that any choice he makes now could only make everything worse. 

He tries very, very hard to make a list. And he comes up with nothing.

He’s not sure how long it takes him to process that there’s a hand on his shoulder, but he turns just enough to see Shaan attached to it.

“He’ll want to see you,” Shaan says simply, and his tone is indisputable. So Alex nods, and they go to Henry’s room, and Alex breaks into tears again at the sight of Henry, pale as a sheet and lying on the hospital bed. Cash hugs him, and after a moment, Alex is able to pull away and let Shaan convince him that he really does deserve to sit down next to Henry’s bed. He takes Henry’s hand, but then that feels like too much and he puts it down. He’s not even sure Henry wants him here. 

But if Henry does want him, then will he be hurt if Alex isn’t holding his hand? Will it make him think Alex doesn’t care? He’s reaching for the hand again when it moves, and Alex pulls back on instinct.

“H-- Henry?” His voice is shakier than he wants it to be. He’s not sure what to do with his hands, and he’s aware that his hands are a stupid thing to be worried about right now, but he’s not sure how to make himself worry about something more important.

Henry’s head turns, and his eyes are on Alex, and Alex can’t breathe. Henry’s eyes go wide, and he’s upset. Alex feels his heart plummet from the lump in his throat to the acid in his stomach.

“I... Shaan said you’d want me here; I told them you said I should go away and you wouldn’t want me, but he.. he said-- I’m sorry. I knew you wouldn’t want to see me, I can’t believe I let this happen; I... I’ll go.”

“Alex, what?” Henry’s voice is a bit hoarse, but it’s enough to send a dagger through Alex’s stomach.

“You... you told me to get away, and I didn’t... I’m sorry. This is my fault; it’s my fault you were hurt, and I--” Henry takes his hand, and Alex’s mouth stops working. Apparently, he’d decided that the right place to put his hand was the side of Henry’s bed, and Henry’s taken it and started rubbing little circles in the back of it. Alex looks up at him, and he lets himself hope, maybe for the first time since Henry woke up.

“I never meant... sweetheart, I’m sorry. I... when we were growing up, they taught us to stay away from each other if anything like this happened so that we wouldn’t be a big target, and I... I’m sorry.” Henry tries to push himself up, then grimaces and says, “come here, would you? I need to hug you, but my bloody stitches won’t let me up.”

Alex is more than happy to oblige, pulling Henry into a careful hug. Henry hugs him back so tightly Alex is worried that he’ll pull his stitches anyway.

“I’m sorry. You know I’d never hurt you, not on purpose. I’d never ask you to leave if it weren’t for your own good. I love you far, far too much for that.”

And if that makes Alex cry again, well, it’s been a long day. He deserves a good cry, and he deserves to climb into bed with his boyfriend so that Henry can hold him close and smooth out his hair and promise that things will be alright. He’d tried to protest, or to apologize, but Henry refused to hear any of it. So instead, Alex just lets himself be held close, drifting off to sleep with the confidence that Henry is safe and that he is loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	12. "That was Really Brave"

Alex hates this. He hates the waiting, and even more, he hates knowing Henry’s being picked apart and there’s nothing he can do. The meetings with the crown aren’t as bad as they used to be, but Henry still puts on every piece of armor he was before he goes into them, still goes in ready to fight. And this time, Bea and Catherine are gone, and Alex isn’t allowed to go in and support him. So instead, Henry’s there fighting alone, and Alex is pacing his bedroom in Kensington, having given up on productivity long ago.

Finally, the door opens, and it only takes a fraction of a second for Henry to find and start toward Alex. In the moments before they meet, Alex processes the exhaustion in Henry’s posture, the almost desperate look in his eyes. It was a bad meeting, then, but now they’re crashing together in a hug, and it’s his job to make Henry forget as many of the awful things as he can. He holds Henry close, feeling the tension slowly drain out of his body like water from a sponge.

“How was it?” He knows it wasn’t good, but it’s nice to ask, and he needs to know just how many Jaffa cakes this situation requires.

Henry shakes his head, which means quite a few Jaffa cakes, so Alex just holds him closer and says, “I love you. I’m proud of you. You’re brave. Going into something like that was really brave. I love you. You’re the bravest person I know, and the strongest. You’re amazing. The fact that you can just... do stuff like that, you know, go into a meeting like that one and hold your head high and be all of the wonderful, incredible things you are is amazing. You’re amazing. You’re amazing, and there’s nothing wrong with you, and I love everything about you. I love you. You’re the best. The best prince there ever was. If you can get through meetings like that, I bet you could fight and kill dragons no problem. Or better yet, you wouldn’t kill them, because you would maybe just learn to communicate and find out that he’s got a splinter or needs help with something, and you’d be smart enough and kind enough and brave enough to fix it without having to fight at all.”

Henry’s doing better, and he laughs a little bit at that. Alex guides him to sit on the bed and gets the kitchen to send up earl grey and jaffa cakes.

“It wasn’t as bad as it has been,” Henry says. “It was better than before. It’s just hard without Bea or Mum. It’s hard... it’s hard to feel like I’m alone.”

“I know. I’m sorry I couldn’t be in there with you. I love you. All of you, every single piece of you. There’s no part of you that I don’t love.”

“I don’t deserve you,” Henry sasy, but it feels more like an appreciation of Alex than a dig at himself. Alex kisses his forehead, since they’re both sitting down and he can be subtle about having to reach up for it. 

“Of course you do. We make each other happy, so we deserve each other.”

Henry smiles at that, then leans over so his head is resting against Alex’s, closing his eyes and just letting the quiet closeness wash over him. Alex smiles, threading their fingers together and bringing Henry’s hand up to kiss the back of it. Henry gives his hand a squeeze, and after a moment, he says, “you’re brave, too. It’s something I’ve always admired about you, but just... your willingness to come into all this is brave. I don’t have a choice, but you could have left when you saw how much everything is here, but you didn’t. You’re brave, and I love you.”

“I love you. You always have a choice, and you always choose to fight. And that makes you really, really brave.”

Henry turns his head to kiss the side of Alex’s, and Alex pulls him into a half hug, smiling. They can go through the details of the meeting later; Henry will want to talk through the policy decisions they’d discussed and the choices being offered to him before he makes any official decisions and Alex is more than happy to be a sounding board. But that can all come later. For now, it’s enough to just hold Henry close and try to absorb as much of the world’s ‘too much’ness as he can. And judging from the way Henry’s relaxing against him, he’s not doing too shabbily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	13. "It was just a nightmare. Go back to sleep"/ "You can cry"/ “Relax, you’re okay, see?”

They’ve finally, finally fixed their sleep schedule, so for a second, Alex can’t figure out why he’s awake. But when he rolls over and reaches out, Henry isn’t as close as he should be. That brings Alex to himself enough to notice the quiet sniffling beside him, and he rubs a hand over his eyes to see Henry emerge from the bleariness of sleep. He’s sitting up, curled in on himself with David methodically licking his hand.

“H? Everything okay?” The answer is pretty clearly ‘no’, but it feels right to ask. It feels less right when Henry looks up and nods, running his not-licked hand through Alex’s hair in a way that’s probably supposed to be soothing. Alex pretends to ignore the fact that it’s shaking.

“I’m okay. It was just a nightmare. Go back to sleep.” As if Alex could ever, ever sleep knowing Henry’s upset. As if he’s callous enough that he could just fall asleep while Henry’s right here, clearly trying not to cry. He’s almost offended.

Instead, he sits up, leaning his shoulder against Henry’s just like he had under the linden tree so long ago. Maybe he can absorb some of the nightmare this way. “Want to tell me about it?”

Henry shakes his head, then the sniffles are back, and he’s burying his face in his hands again.

“Oh, hey, it’s okay. You can cry.” Alex puts an arm around his shoulders, and Henry collapses into him. Alex feels his shoulder getting wet, and he rubs Henry’s back, murmuring, “I love you, I love you, I love you” over and over.

Eventually, Henry’s tears slow, and when he pulls back a bit, Alex kisses his forehead and rubs some of the tension out of his shoulders with a quiet, “relax, you’re okay, see?”

“I dreamed about my dad,” Henry says, picking at their blanket and speaking so softly Alex almost misses it. “I dreamed he didn’t like you, and... and he was upset about me.”

Alex isn’t sure what to say to that, but he pulls Henry in for another tight hug. He’s shaking just a bit, and he might be crying again.

“He loved you, H. All of you. And I love all of you, too.”

“Thank you,” Henry says into Alex’s chest. Alex holds him close and rubs his back, and David goes back to licking his hand, and together, they lull Henry back to sleep. Once he’s asleep, David moves on to Alex, and Alex falls asleep with Henry held close to his chest and David licking his hand. Finally, once both his people are asleep, David puts his head on Henry’s shoulder and falls asleep, too, his quiet snores lulling Henry into an even deeper sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gina over at Saltandburnit wrote David looking after Henry when he’s not doing great, and that’s absolutely brilliant so I stole it from her. BUT also it’s her idea and you should all go read her fic it's so good.  
> -  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	14. Baking

“Uh, Alex? Love? What’s... happening?” Alex looks up. He has cocoa powder on his forehead, flour in his hair, and a bit of something that looks somehow doughy in his eyebrow. 

“H! You’re home! Happy birthday again!”

“Thank you? Do you want to explain what’s going on here?”

“I’m baking.” Henry tries not to let any of the sudden panic he’s feeling into his face.

“What are you making? Aside from a mess?”

“A cake. It’s your birthday, so I asked Bea to send me your favorite cake recipe so I could make it. Everything was by weight and we don’t have one of those fancy scale things, so I sort of had to guess, but I... you know. I made it work.” This does absolutely nothing to quell Henry’s growing concern. He looks around the kitchen. There’s melted chocolate on the door of the refrigerator. There’s flour all over Alex’s pants and somehow, inexplicably, egg shell in his hair.

“Have you ever made a cake before?”

“From a box, once. It wasn’t great. But we’ve watched enough Bake Off that I know what I’m doing now! Eggs are the only raising agent. Fold the batter. shoot in the flour, Bain-Marie, let prove, all that.”

Henry’s mouth opens, then closes, then opens again. “Those are... techniques for entirely separate bakes.”

“Well, whatever I did, it worked. Sort of. Here.” He’s holding out something reminiscent of the mud pies Henry and Bea used to “cook” when they were kids. The world’s saddest rainbow candle is stuck in the top. “I had to cut off all the weird wet bits, and the ones that kept falling apart, so that’s why it doesn’t totally look like it should, but I think it’s all baked. And I’ll clean up the kitchen, I swear, I wasn’t expecting you home so soon. Maybe I lost track of time while I was decorating; the fondant didn’t work out so it sort of looks like shit, but uh... I tried? Happy birthday.”

Henry takes the plate Alex hands him almost gingerly. A scene from The Lord of the Rings where Aragorn has to choke down a bowl of soup and subtly pours half of it out flashes through his mind. Alex hunts the kitchen for a clean fork, leaving chocolatey fingerprints on what might be every clean drawer in the kitchen before he resorts to pulling one out of the dishwasher. Henry steels himself and takes a bite, feeling Alex’s eyes on him.

He’s not expecting it to be good. He loves Alex with everything in him, but will all his cooking expertise, the man has neither the patience nor the discipline for baking, even when he has a recipe he can follow.

The cake hits Henry’s mouth, and it’s somehow worse than he could have ever expected.

He chokes down a mouthful, forcing himself to swallow.

Alex is looking at him.

“I... I’ve never had anything like it.”

“Is it... it’s okay if it’s bad.”

“It’s... somehow both burnt and raw in the same spot.”

“Yeah, I thought maybe if I put the burnt parts by the wet parts maybe they would cancel each other out. You don’t have to eat it. I ordered a dozen cupcakes when I messed up the first cake, and I have dinner prepped, so we can still have a nice birthday night. How was work?”

“It was good.”

“Did they do anything special for your birthday?”

“We... we made cake. No, it’s okay, it was all pre-measured ingredients and stuff. It was mostly just a fun decorating thing for any of the kids who wanted to. Besides, you can’t be good at everything. If you could bake, you wouldn’t need me.”

“Sweetheart, I will always need you.” Henry smiles, using the excuse of grabbing the bit of egg shell to run his hand through Alex’s hair.

“Thank you for the cake, really. I appreciate the thought, and the effort.”

“I’m sorry it’s shit. I can make it up to you?” He clearly has something sexy in mind, but Henry smirks.

“Want to try a bite?”

Alex deflates. He takes Henry’s fork and gets a bite, eyeing it suspiciously for a moment before putting it in his mouth. He immediately makes a face, sticking out his tongue to let the lump of what can only generously be called chocolate cake fall back onto the plate with a wet thwack. Henry tries to hold in his laughter, he does, but after a moment, Alex is laughing, too. And really, a laughing boyfriend is all Henry could ever want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been watching a lot of Aries Kitchen in quarantine, and [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmP9daEAh34) in particular has a lot of Alex-trying-to-bake energy.  
> -  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	15. "I love you, but I need you to go away because you’re really distracting and I have to pass this test tomorrow."

“Come downstairs? I miss you.” 

Alex turns to see Henry at the door to their office, wearing his pajama pants, David wiggling past his legs to sit and whine up at Alex where he’s sitting at his desk. Alex is going to say no, because he’s got a test coming up and he has to study, but David’s begging, and Henry looks so soft that Alex really has no option but to follow him downstairs to the couch. He gets his laptop, and Henry grabs the textbooks and coffee mug to bring it downstairs with them. Henry has an episode of Bake Off they’ve already seen pulled up on the TV, and he goes to the kitchen to wash Alex’s mug and get snacks while Alex spreads out across the coffee table, leaving room for a cup of tea and a bowl of popcorn. He’s sitting on the floor for now, for better access to the coffee table, but he knows he’ll join Henry on the couch with his laptop by the end of the technical. 

“What’s your test in?” Henry asks, settling on the couch so his leg brushes Alex’s shoulder.

“Torts.”

“I’m sorry?”

“A tort is a harmful act for which one might be held responsible under civil law. The primary actionable torts in the United States are false imprisonment, trespassing to land or personal property, emotional distress, conversion, assault, and battery,” Alex recites. Henry looks impressed. 

“You’re brilliant, did you know,” he says, and Alex rolls his eyes.

“It’s just putting in the work. No, really, it is. Anyone could do it.”

Henry joins him on the floor before he says, “Yeah, well, not everyone is willing to put in that work. Not just anyone could do what you do, Alex. You... you’re special, and you’re smart, and you... you’re beautiful.”

Alex is decidedly not beautiful. He hasn’t showered in at least two days, he’s wearing his glasses, and he’s about ninety percent sure he’s got a stress zit or three on his nose and jawline. But Henry doesn’t seem to mind; he brings a hand up to Alex’s zit-marred jaw and brings him in for a kiss anyway, his hand moving past the zits and into the unwashed hair as he pulls Alex closer. Alex kisses him eagerly; it’s been a few days since they’ve been together like this and he hadn’t realized just how much he missed Henry.

Living in the same house, sleeping in the same bed, he assumes that they see each other enough. But sometimes, like recently, when Alex is buried in tests and Henry’s busy at the shelter, no matter how much they love each other, they get pulled in different directions. He’ll always have Henry to come home to, he knows that, but sometimes he forgets that he needs to go home. He forgets that just because they’re in the same place doesn’t mean he and Henry are necessarily spending time together. If the way Henry’s kissing him is any indication, he forgets sometimes, too.

They pull apart after a bit, both breathless as Henry leans his forehead against Alex’s.

“I missed you,” he says softly. “It’s... I know you’ve been here, but still. I’ve missed you.”

“I missed you, too,” Alex says. Henry hums, pressing gentle kisses to Alex’s forehead and down the side of his face. Alex sighs, running his hand through Henry’s hair as Henry kisses his neck.

“I love you,” Henry says softly. “And I’m proud of you. And I am so glad I get to cheer you on.”

“I love you, too,” Alex says, “but I need you to go away because you’re really fucking distracting and I have to pass this test tomorrow.”  
Henry laughs, pressing another kiss to Alex’s forehead as he retreats to the couch. He starts the episode, his leg pressed up against Alex’s shoulder. Alex kisses his knee through his pajama pants, and David settles his head on Alex’s leg. Alex is on the couch by the start of the show’s technical challenge, Henry’s head on his shoulder as he takes his quizlet quiz for a third time. 

“You really are smart,” Henry says, watching Alex take the quiz. “And I really am proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you, too. You’re so smart, and so good with people, and I love you a lot.” 

Henry smiles, kissing the bottom of Alex’s jaw before he goes back to watching the TV. He’s relaxed for once, and David is asleep below them, and Alex has all but abandoned his textbooks to trust his quizlet scores and a last re-read of his study guide before his laptop dies, and instead of getting up to get a charger, he wraps an arm around Henry and watches the contestants build houses and sheep out of biscuits. His hand is in Henry’s hair, and Henry’s wrapped around his arm, and when the next episode autoplays, Alex just kisses Henry’s head and lets it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	16. “I want to believe, I do…I just…how can I believe in something that I can’t see?”

Henry’s finishing up some paperwork after a fundraiser at the shelter when he hears someone pacing outside. For a second, his tired brain tells him it’s Alex trying to sleep, but then he remembers where he is. Alex has been busy, so Henry sent him home after the fundraiser, promising to be there as soon as he can. So, it’s not Alex, and Henry assumes the live-in staff are asleep, too. They’ve got security around the shelter, but Henry’s still wary as he gets up and goes out into the hallway. 

There is someone pacing, and they turn when Henry opens the door. It takes him a second to adjust to the darkness of the hallway after the light in his office, and by that point, they’ve stopped pacing to freeze, and recognizes a teenager who came to the shelter a few days ago. They’d appeared in an explosion of floral patterns and tie dye, hair in a braid, introducing themself as Jehan. In the light of the open office door, Henry can tell they’re blushing.

“Sorry. I... I thought... I thought it would be empty here.”

“It’s alright. I just wanted to see if I can help?”

“I... I don’t know. I’m just... I think something’s wrong, but I’m not sure what, but I can’t sit still so I thought maybe, if I came up here and away from the bedrooms, I could freak out without bothering anyone.”

“Would you like to freak out near someone, or with someone to help you, or would you rather be alone?” 

“Maybe... maybe having someone would help? But I don’t want to bother you.”

“You’re not bothering me.”

“Are you sure? Because I don’t want to be annoying, but I am kind of... I’m just sort of scared. Because I know I’ve got to go to school here, of course, but I know my parents know that too, and I don’t know what will happen if they try and contact the school. Because it’s new, and that’s good, but I think they’ll know I came here and then they’ll be able to figure out where I am. And then if they know where I am, I’m scared they’ll do something, like tell the school to send me back or something. And if the school sends me back, they won’t let me get away again, and then I’ll be stuck there forever. And then I was thinking about going back, and about my parents, and how they might know my English teacher helped me get here, and then she might get in trouble and I don’t want that either. I don’t want to go back, and I don’t want anyone to get in trouble because of me, and I want everything to be okay.”

Their hands are shaking, and they’re not pacing anymore, but they can’t seem to stand still. Henry reaches out to put a hand on their arm, and they look at him for what might be the first time since they started talking. 

“Jehan, I’m going to have you take a deep breath, okay?” he asks. They nod, taking a deep breath along with him, then another. “It’s going to be alright, okay? We’re going to take care of you and keep you safe, I promise.”

“I know, at least, in my head I do. And I want to believe you, I do…I just…how can I believe in something that I can’t see? How can I actually believe that things will be okay if I can’t actually picture things working out, and I can’t see anything going well?”

“For now, let’s just focus on what you can see, alright? Can you tell me five things you can see?” Henry asks. Jehan nods, their eyes flicking around the hallway.

“Um, you. I can see you, and... the picture on the wall, and the doorway. And through the door, I can see a... a filing cabinet, I think. And a desk. Is that five?”

“That’s five; you’re doing great. Now, can you tell me four things you can feel?”

“Yeah, there’s... there’s your hand. And my pajama pants, and... and a breeze because the window’s open. And I can feel... um, the floor? I can feel the floor through my socks.”

“Good, that’s great. Now, what can you hear? Are there three things you can hear?”

“I can hear you. And the cars outside, and a bird, I think. I don’t know why a bird would be out this late, but I... I think I hear one?”

“I hear it, too,” Henry says, and they relax a bit more. They’re looking more relaxed over all as Henry asks, “are there two things you can smell?”

“I smell the... the sort of old building smell that the whole place smells like, in a nice way. And a candle from your office. Is it... is it a flower?”

“Yeah, it’s called cactus blossom. Now I’ve got one more thing; is there something you can taste?”

“Does... does air count?”

“Sure,” Henry says, smiling. “Are you feeling a bit better?”

“Yeah. Yeah; I’m... I’m still scared, but I sort of think I will be for a while.”

“That’s normal, from what I understand. Just so you know, we’re listed as not being in any one school, and the one kids go to are told to not say anything about our kids to anyone who isn’t with us. So your parents can’t get to you, I promise. And if you want, we have a therapist on staff you could talk to about things.”

“I... I think I might do that. Thank you,” they say, and Henry smiles.

“Any time. And you’re never a bother, I promise. I’m here for you; we all are. For anything you need.”

“Thank you,” they say again. “Do you... do you mind if I... are you going to be here for a while?”

“I’ll be here for a bit longer. Do you want to join me? I... I’m not sure what you’d do, but just to relax for a bit?”

“If... would you mind?”

“Not at all. Come one in,” Henry says. Jehan follows him, smiling a bit as they settle into the extra chair. When Henry looks back over, they’re asleep. He just smiles, waking them up and walking them to their room when he’s done, making sure they’re settled before he heads home to Alex, David, and his own warm bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been toying with a longer piece about the youth shelter, since I love them in a sort of older brother/parental role, and, well, here we go. Also, I stole Jehan from Les Mis, because they’re lovely and I’m too lazy to come up with my own characters 😂  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	17. Speaks in a terrible Shakespearean/Elizabethan style to woo/make the other laugh

It’s not fair. Henry’s been on a fundraising tour of the UK for a week and a half, and it’s been keeping him away from Alex. They’ve been talking and texting constantly, but still, a full eleven days apart is far, far too long. When Alex lands in London, Henry is there to pull him into a hug, but they only have the car ride to Buckingham to be alone, and that is nowhere near enough time. Henry looks exhausted, and Alex is sure part of that is from touring, but there’s a deeper tiredness to the way he carries himself. Pez has been out of the UK the whole time Henry’s been here, and Bea is on her own fundraising trip. Alex wonders how long it’s been since Henry’s been able to relax completely.

Still, they really only have the drive to be together. They they have to be at a fancy dinner, and that dinner just won’t seem to end. And, just when it seems to be wrapping up, it evolves into drinks and socialization that just drag on longer.

When he finally sees Henry get a moment on his own, Alex puts on the worst, most outdated British accent to say, “Hello, your highness, I am Lord Basil of Badglyonton.”

“Lord Basil, how—“ Henry’s already got his pleasant press face on as he turns, and in the split second before it melts into something more real, Alex can read his tired annoyance.

“It is a pleasure to make your highness’s acquaintance, I do wonder if I could beseech your liege’s help with something. You see, my peasants have been rather riotous of late— my lord, do you laugh at my plight?”

Henry’s trying to keep a straight face, but Alex can see it starting to crack. The tiredness from his press face is slipping away, too.

“I wouldn’t dare, Lord Basil.”

“My lord, the people of Badgerton are in dire straights. The peasants are unionizing, my liege, I fear we will soon be overrun. I beg of your lordship, please send a supply of the most lovely spotted dicks immediately to save us from drought.” He keeps his accent as ridiculous as he can, and at the mention of the spotted dick as protection from drought, Henry breaks. It starts with a snort, then a hand on Alex’s shoulder, then he dissolves into actual laughter as Alex pulls him in for a hug. Alex has hugged him a lot since they met up, and this is the first time he’s felt somewhat relaxed.

“My lord, how dare you mock my request? I only ask a pudding, a simple supply of dick to protect the people of— fuck, Badgerliontown?— from certain doom,” Alex complains, his accent even worse. Henry, still in Alex’s arms, shakes with helpless laughter.

“I love you,” he mumbles. “And I’ve missed you. A lot.”

“I’ve missed you, too,” Alex says. “And I do hope you’ll provide dick to the hungry residents of this disgustingly fake town.”

“All in good time, Lord Hallward,” Henry says. He kisses Alex on the cheek as they pull away, back to being civil for the rest of the party. But Henry looks happier, and Alex has heard him laugh for the first time in a week. So really, with the promise that they’ll come back together soon, parting isn’t such sweet sorrow after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to anyone from England but also it’s not my fault half the names of English things feel like they came straight out of the _Redwall_ books. Also, it’s not my fault there’s an actual English dessert called spotted dick.   
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	18. “Can we just make a decision? Please?”

“Can we just make a decision? Please?” David looks up from across the room, concerned at the raised voices. They’ve been talking for so long he’s all but given up on his walk, but this is new.

“Henry, I’m BI! You can’t expect me to decide things; who do you think I am?”

“You have an opinion on literally everything; why can’t you just decide if we should get pizza or Thai?” Henry sounds defeated. David gets up to rest his head on his foot, and Henry rubs his ears as Alex shuts his laptop to give their argument his full attention.

“Because I know there’s one you want more, but you won’t say it! I honestly, genuinely, don’t care. I like both options. And I know you want one more, but I can’t figure out which, so I’m not going to pick, because then you’ll have to. I just want you to get what you want. That’s all. I want you to get to pick.”

“I asked you what you want.”

“And I told you, you should pick. I pick that you pick, especially because I picked last time. It’s your turn.”

Something happens on Henry’s face, and Alex isn’t quite sure what it is. Whatever it is, it makes him move closer on the couch to rest his hand on Henry’s knee. David shifts a bit, thumping his tail.

“H? You don’t have to, I...”

“No, it’s just... I’m not used to getting to pick. I sort of realized, at home we’ve got the places we always go for things, or Bea or Pez or someone knows what they want. Does Thai sound alright?”

“Thai sounds great,” Alex says, squeezing his knee. “Now, since we’ve established that I can’t make decisions and you deserve to start making them, can you please make the actual decision we have to make tonight? Seriously, we need to book hotels. If you want to show me around the Acropolis I’d love that. If you want to go to Wales for a week and relax we can. If you want to see art museums or libraries we will. Anything you want, you just have to pick which one we’re doing next.”

Henry groans, his head flopping onto Alex’s shoulder. Alex laughs, his fingers threading through Henry’s hair.

“I’ll help plan, I promise. And we can decide on a full stomach.”

Henry nods, but after all the decisions that go into ordering dinner, they decide to leave the big vacation decision for later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	19. "God, I love your face"

“How have you not had good enough internet for a video call? You’re a fucking prince; can’t you use some royal influence?”

“One point of this trip is to take time off, and the other is to connect with people who don’t have good access to the internet so we can figure out how to get it to them. Not having good connection was what we expected.”

“I know, but I miss you. I miss your face.” Alex sighs. He’s been alone in the brownstone for a week now while Henry and Pez are on a trip to Peru, and he hadn’t realized he’d miss Henry quite this much.

“I miss you, too. I can’t wait to see you again; I have so much to tell you.”

“What’s the best thing that’s happened to you today?” Alex asks, rolling onto his back in bed. “Law school’s boring; let me live vicariously through you.”

“We met baby llamas today. Pez named one for you.”

“Was it the most handsome one?”

“It was short and spit on him. I’ll send you a photo of I can.”

“If you send me a picture of a llama but not a picture of you, I’ll fly to Lima myself just to yell at you. In two languages, so everyone there can understand I’m pissed.”

Henry laughs. “How are things there? You and David doing alright?”

“We’re doing well. Here; I’ll put you on speaker so you can talk to him. If you could get better connection, maybe he could actually understand.”

“Yes, well, we’ll see. David? You there, boy?”

David perked up the minute he heard Henry’s voice, but at the sound of his own name, he comes across the bed to sniff around the phone. Henry laughs, evidently hearing the sniffing noises, and David barks.

“He misses you, too,” Alex says. “And I miss you. A lot.”

“I miss you, too. I’ll be back in a week.”

“Okay.”

“You sound disappointed.”

“It’s fine; we knew it would be a while.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Just... I miss you is all. I missed you extra today.” It’s a Tuesday, and they'd decided Tuesdays would be their date nights this semester. This is the second one they’ve missed, and Henry’s not supposed to get back until Wednesday of next week. That’s three missed date nights. They’ve been talking every day, and the time zone difference is better than when Henry goes home, but it’s still not easy.

“I miss you, too,” Henry says. “I’m sorry the connection isn’t good enough for video.”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll see you soon anyway; It’s just been ages and we miss you. But I hope you’re having the best time, and you’re relaxing and getting good work done. I love you.”

“I love you, too. A lot. You should get to bed though; it’s late there.”

Alex sighs. Their bed feels too big for just him and David, but he nods, forgetting Henry can’t see him.

“Alright. Send me the llama though; you promised. And your face. Please send me a picture of your face; I miss it so much.”

“I will. Goodnight, Alex.”

A few more goodnights and they hang up, and Alex is alone again. One more week.

—

The next Tuesday, Alex is determined not to mope around the house. He misses Henry more than he’s ever missed anyone, and he knows if he goes home early like he normally does on date night, he’ll just be lonely and mopey. So instead, he convinces Cash to give David his walk, orders take out, and goes to the library with a stack of books and an essay that won’t be due for another month.

The food’s lukewarm by the time it gets to him, which really sums up how he feels about the day as a whole. He’s been alternating between picking at it, staring at a book, and watching his cursor blink at him for half an hour when a text pops up on his phone. It’s their security system; someone’s in the house. Alex sighs, packing up his stuff and dumping the half-finished, aggressively mediocre food in the trash as he starts home, already filing through options of what he’ll do if there’s been a break in.

The door is unlocked when he gets there, which really is just great. He locks it, kicks off his shoes, and drops his bag by the stairs, noticing a light on in the kitchen.

Of course they’d be in the kitchen. Of course whoever’s broken in would have to be the one place he’s trying to avoid, where he and Henry always spend their Tuesday nights together. Of fucking course.

They’re humming. It sounds suspiciously like Henry, but Alex can’t let himself think about that.

He comes into the kitchen and Henry turns, and Alex doesn’t think either of them move, but suddenly Henry’s arms are around him, and his hands are in Henry’s hair, and his lips are on Henry’s lips, and everything is better.

“Oh my god, you’re... you’re here. You’re back early? Is everything alright?”

“It’s fine, everything is perfect. I just missed you, and I didn’t want to miss date night. Not again.”

Inexplicably, Alex sort of wants to cry. It’s been so long, and he’s had such a bad day, but Henry’s here. Alex pulls away just enough to see Henry’s face. His nose is burnt, because he burns to a crisp any time he sees the sun for more than two days. There are freckles, which are new, and Alex can’t wait to spend ages kissing and memorizing every single one. He’s already planning a trip to the lake house when they fade, just so he can see them again.

“I love you. God, I love your face. It’s been so long since I’ve seen it.”

Henry laughs, kissing Alex’s forehead as he pulls him closer, resting their foreheads together. He is all Alex can see or feel or smell, and it’s the best thing he can imagine.

“I love you. I’m sorry I was gone.”

“Oh yeah, how dare you do amazing charity work to extend internet access to people who need it. That’s a very bad thing that you should definitely apologize for.”

“Yes, well, next time I’ll take you with me. Alex the llama has to meet his namesake, after all.”

If anyone had told Alex he’d end the day laughing, he would have called them a liar. But in the arms of his boyfriend, with Henry’s freckles and Henry’s laugh and Henry’s everything all around him, laughing is the most natural thing in the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	20. "You really thought I was dead?" / "I can't do this without you"

Alex isn’t sure he’s ever been prouder of his mom. The Lometa long shot, stepping out of a presidential car and back into the town that raised her, to cut the ribbon on a Planned Parenthood clinic that will help a huge area of central Texas. He gets to follow her out of the car, June by his side, and he can tell she’s proud, too. All he needs to make things perfect is Henry, and Henry’s on his way.

Amy and her team fan out to check the perimeter, and Alex follows his mom and June backstage. Henry’s not here yet, but that seems alright. Alex is trying not to worry too much when he sees Cash frown on a call. June and his mom are going over his mom’s speech, so Alex is the only one who sees Cash put down the phone and look toward the family, and Alex is alone when he goes over to ask what’s wrong. 

“There’s been a wreck on 183, near Lampasas.”

“Oh. Is... is everyone alright?”

“We don’t know much right now. But maybe... Henry was coming that way; maybe you could see if he’s made it past?”

Alex feels his heart drop. “Yeah. Yeah, I... I’ll call him.”

There’s no reason to think something might be wrong. It doesn’t make any sense to assume that something’s happened based on something as simple as the fact that there was a problem somewhere. If he assumed Henry is in trouble any time there’s a problem anywhere in the world, he’d spend his whole life terrified about Henry. But that doesn’t help much when Henry’s phone rings, then rings again. 

It’s fine. Nothing’s wrong. 

It rings again. And again. And again.

“Hello, you’ve reached--” Alex hangs up. 

It’s fine. It has to be fine. Everything has to be perfectly fine. He’ll just check Henry’s location to see if he’s close, or past the wreck. 

His phone is stopped near Lampasas. Alex feels his heart stop, then leap into his throat and drop into his stomach all within the span of a second.

“Cash?” He asks, looking up from his phone. His voice sounds distant and strangled. Cash is there instantly, and Alex just hands him his phone, Henry’s location pulled up on it. “Is... is this past, or... do you...”

“I don’t know,” Cash says. “I don’t know where exactly it happened. I’m sorry.”

“Oh. It’s... it’s okay. It’s alright. He... I’m sure he’s fine.” Alex takes a deep breath, trying to convince himself. It’s a twenty minute drive from Lampasas to Lometa. With the wreck, it will take longer. Alex sets himself a thirty minute timer, and he’s staunchly not allowed to worry until it goes off. He goes back to his mom and June, helps June fix her hair a bit and tells his mom she looks great. He doesn’t think about the wreck. He bothers Zahra to see if she’s heard from Shaan, just so he knows if they’re close. It’s not because he’s scared. He’s not worried when she hasn’t, or when she tells him that not everyone is attached to their partner at the hip. 

Alex is, decidedly, not worried.

His phone buzzes thirty minutes later, and he calls Henry again. Nothing. He checks for Henry’s location. It hasn’t moved. And that’s when Alex lets himself start to worry. His mom has her speech in half an hour, but she’s mingling now, and he can’t worry her. June is mingling, too, clearly engaged in a conversation with someone from the clinic. So Alex finds Cash, and he pulls him aside. “He hasn’t moved. His... his phone hasn’t moved since the wreck. I don’t know where... I mean, I know where he is, but I don’t know what’s happened. Cash, what if... what if something... Do you think it would... I can’t go. I can’t go there, but he...”

Cash pulls him into a hug, and Alex tries his hardest not to cry as Cash moves them to somewhere Alex assumes there won’t be any cameras. He can’t fall apart, not now, but he still feels himself starting to. 

“It’ll be alright,” Cash says. But Alex is finally letting himself worry, and all that repressed terror is bubbling up anew.

“But what if... what if it’s not. What if he’s... It’s been thirty minutes. He should have been here ten minutes ago. And he’s not, and Zahra hasn’t heard from Shaan. I don’t... is he... Cash, what if... what if he’s...”

“He’s not. He’s alright.”

“How do you--”

“Alex?” He turns so fast he’s surprised he doesn’t give himself whiplash. Henry’s there, looking like an absolute angel, and Alex is half convinced he’s dreaming. Henry comes closer, frowning slightly. Surely, if it was a dream, Henry would be happy. But he’s frowning as he comes up to take Alex’s face in his hands, gently wiping off a tear Alex hadn’t even realized was there.

“Hen. Oh my god, there was a wreck, and your phone wasn’t moving, and I thought... I thought maybe... I’m just so glad you’re okay. I... I can’t do this without you.”

“You really thought I was dead?”

“I don’t know! You could have been! I... I hadn’t heard from you, and Zahra hadn’t heard from Shaan, and we didn’t know anything. I... I was ready for something to maybe go wrong here, since it’s, you know. But I would have been there. I just... I thought maybe something had happened and you were alone. I... I don’t know if I could handle that. If something went wrong and I didn’t get to tell you I love you. I love you.”

“I know.”

Alex groans, dropping his head onto Henry’s shoulder as it shakes in laughter. Henry rubs his back, and Alex finally, finally lets himself relax and fully believe it’s all alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	21. “Stop apologising for other people! You’re not the shitty one!” / “Stop being a fucking dick.”

Henry is going to personally murder every single _Mail_ editor. He’s going to go to their headquarters, and he’s going to personally and individually find every single person in charge of this article so that he can murder them, then he’s going to hunt down every single copy of the article and burn them. 

The offending headline still stares up from his phone: “Has FSOTUS Alex Kidnapped Prince Henry? New Photos Show Henry Looking Heartbroken In New York”. The accompanying photos are blurry, but he recognizes them as being from a day Alex wasn’t even in the city. He’d been doing something for Raf’s campaign in Colorado that day, and Henry had spent it fighting parents of one of the kids who had run away to the Brooklyn shelter while also trying to keep any signs of the confrontation away from the kids there. The most ridiculous thing is that it had been Alex who’d finally calmed him down over the phone that night, and Alex who’d written up legal policies to make sure that it never happened again. Alex had made things better that day, just like he always does, but the stupid Daily Mail just had to be assholes. 

He doesn’t want to look at the comments under the article, or at the twitter responses it’ll have generated. #KidnappedPrince has been trending on Twitter for the past hour, and that’s enough to make him worry as he puts his phone away to unlock the door to their house, already hearing David’s feet on the hardwood as he opens it. Alex isn’t far behind, and he takes one look at Henry before wrapping him in a hug. 

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s stupid.”

“No, it’s not. If it’s making you sad, it’s not stupid.”

“You know I love you, right?”

Alex pulls back a bit to look him in the eye, a slight frown on his face. Henry’s just glad he’s still got his arms around him, even if they’re not as tight. “Henry? What is it? I mean, yes, obviously I know, but where is this coming from?”

“Have you been on Twitter?”

“No? What is it?”

“It’s... the _Mail_ has a new article out about us. They say I’m not happy here, and that you... this is stupid, but they say you’re the only reason I’m here, and that you’re making me unhappy. And you’re not, I swear, I love being here, and I love the work we’re both doing, and I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, but... I’m sorry. I’m sorry you have to deal with this, with the _Mail_ and the _Sun_ and everyone being shit about my family. I’m sorry you don’t get to be out of the public eye once your mom’s done. I’m sorry British tabloids are so shitty.”

“Hey, no. Stop apologizing for other people. You’re not the shitty one,” Alex says, pulling him in for another tight hug. “The _Mail_ just needs to stop being a fucking dick. I love you so much, and I love the life we have together. I’m sorry they’re doing this. I’m sorry they’re like this. I love you, and you don’t deserve this.”

Henry nods, spending another minute with his face buried in Alex’s shoulder before he pulls away to rub David’s ears with a smile. 

“I know. I shouldn’t let it get to me, it’s just... I don’t want you to ever, ever doubt that I love you.”

“I don’t. I know.”

Later that night, they’re watching Jeopardy! on the couch when Henry kisses Alex’s forehead and leans forward to balance his phone against the empty popcorn bowl on the coffee table, the self timer camera set. Then, he pulls Alex into a kiss. 

The photo he posts on Instagram is of them tangled together on the couch, Alex’s legs in his lap, David’s head on top of them. Alex’s hand is is his hair, and Alex’s lips are on his. It’s a masterpiece of self-timer photography, and it’s captioned “@dailymail really nailed that scoop today; I’ve definitely been kidnapped 🙄”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	22. "So I had this really vivid dream..."

There are only a few people who would call him this late, but Henry would know that ringtone anywhere, in any state of mind. Even half asleep, he knows to answer it, still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “Alex? What time is it?” 

“Maybe... I don’t know. Late. I... I just wanted to hear your voice. I miss you.” It’s late enough that Alex’s Texas drawl comes through, and Henry can’t keep the smile off his face. Alex had gone down to DC for the weekend, leaving Henry in New York to watch some of the kids from the youth shelter in a band concert. 

“It’s only been a day since you left, and you’ll be home tomorrow.”

“I know. But I miss you.” Henry wonders briefly where Alex is in the White House, if he’s still in bed in the room that used to be his or if he’s gotten up to wander. Maybe he’s in the solarium or out on a balcony, since he likes fresh air when he can’t sleep.

“I miss you, too, but you called to tell me that at... half three?” 

“Yeah.” There’s a new hesitation in Alex’s voice, and Henry rolls over a bit, propping himself up on an elbow and rubbing David’s ears.

“Everything alright? Where are you?” If he’s still in bed, that means he hasn’t been up for too long. If he’s somewhere else, he’ll have been up for a bit, and that’s a different beast.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. I’m out on the Truman balcony; I can see the tree you kissed me under.” He doesn’t sound fine, and if he’s been out of bed long enough to be on a balcony, he’s decidedly not fine.

“What happened?”

“So, I had this really vivid dream... it’s so stupid. I shouldn’t have woken you up.”

“It’s alright. Want to tell me about it?”

“I just... I dreamed you were gone. And normally, when I have a bad dream, you... you’re there. So I can... you know. I can’t overthink it or anything, I just know I’ve got you.” Henry wonders how long Alex had spent worrying or overthinking, how long he’d wandered the White House or stared at his phone before he’d called.

“You’ve got me; I’m right here.”

“I know. I just... I wanted to hear your voice. It helps.” That makes Henry smile. Even knowing Alex is upset, knowing that he can help Alex relax feels good.

“Have you had a dream like this before?” 

“Just... A few times. Usually when I’m already stressed, during finals or midterms or big election dates or something. But we always make sure we’re in the same place when it’s going to be stressful, so it’s never really been a problem. I’m sorry I woke you up this time.”

“Alex. I don’t mind. I love you, and I know I’ve woken you up for less. I’m glad I can help you calm down. I’m glad I’ve been here other times to help, and I’m glad you woke me up to tell me. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Thank you,” Alex says. He yawns, and Henry smiles.

“How long have you been up?”

“A while. I didn’t want to wake you, but I just... I missed you. A lot.”

“I miss you, too. Do you want me to stay on until you fall asleep again?”

“I don’t need you to. You can go back to sleep.”

“I’ll stay on if you want.”

“Could you? I... I sleep better when you’re close.”

“Of course.” He stays on while Alex goes back to his room, then as he gets into bed. He stays on through Alex’s mumbled affirmations and into the quiet snores, smiling and mumbling a final “I love you” before putting the phone down and going back to sleep himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	23. “I look at you and I... I feel so sad because I love you, but I also have been hurt so many times that I don’t think I can forgive and forget.”

Henry being home when Alex gets there is a rare surprise, but he can hear Henry’s voice from the other side of the office door as he goes to drop his bag off. He’s about to go in, but when he gets close to the door, he hears another voice and suddenly remembers that Henry has a skype call with someone from Uni today. He’s about to leave and come drop off his bag later when he hears a voice that’s not Henry’s.

“I look at you, and I... I feel so sad because I love you, but I also have been hurt so many times that I don’t think I can forgive and forget.”

It sounds like someone might be crying, and Alex isn’t sure if he should go in or if that would be worse. Eventually, he leaves his bag outside and goes downstairs to start on a nice Mexican hot chocolate and pull some cookies out of the freezer. Henry comes down as he’s finishing the hot chocolate, wrapping his arms around Alex from behind and burying his face in Alex’s hair. Alex can hear him take a deep breath in through his nose, his arms tightening around Alex’s waist as he does.

“Hello, Love,” he says, and Alex smiles, turning to kiss him.

“Hello,” Alex says. “How was work?”

“It was good. Just a half day, but we had a good staff meeting this morning, and some of the newer interns seem to be a really good fit.”

“And your call?” Henry’s silence says more than anything he could have said aloud. Alex turns to pour them two mugs of hot chocolate as the oven timer beeps, and Henry pulls the tray of cookies out. He’s quiet all evening, and no amount of Bake Off or falafel or anything else will get him to talk about the call. 

Eventually, when they’re done eating and he’s got his head on Alex’s chest when he looks up to say, “do you... I know you have to say yes, but do you think I’m a good person?” Alex, who’s been playing with Henry’s hair, freezes.

“Of course. Of course you’re a good person; how... yes, I think you’re a very, very good person, and I love you.” When he looks down, Henry’s shoulders are slumped a bit. His eyes are trained on the TV, but he doesn’t seem to be watching.

“I’m sorry. I... I was on a call with someone from Uni, and he... I wanted to see about him working with Bea’s charity some, but after that we got to talking, about how we used to be so close but we’d sort of drifted our last year. Turns out, I... I was a bit of an ass to him that year, and even if I want to be friends, he doesn’t think we can. So I... I’ve just been sort of... I don’t know. It just made me wonder about how many people I’ve hurt, and how few of them would ever tell me about it since I’m, you know, a prince, and so many of my relationships will always feel so unequal because of that. It feels alright with Pez, and it’s good with you, but with people I’m not as close to, it’s hard. I’m sorry I had to ask, and that I’m, you know, a bit needy tonight.”

“It’s alright. I love you, and I want to be here for you no matter what. But more importantly, I know you’re a good person. You told me work was good because the new interns blended well with the people already on staff; that’s what made you happy about work today. About your job helping homeless kids stay off the streets and get the support they need. You are the best person I know, Henry; there is no way you could ever not be a good person.”

Henry nestles in closer to Alex, and Alex runs his fingers through his hair. He can tell Henry’s still worried, so he resolves to keep reassuring him for the rest of the week. He doesn’t know what it’s like to approach every one of his relationships as a prince, he has no idea what exactly happened on that call, and he’s not sure he ever will. But what he does know is that he loves Henry, and Henry is a good person, and he can find a way to reassure him of that for as long as it takes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	24. “I feel sick…so anxious and sick and like my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest.”

There’s nothing to worry about. Logically, it should be fine. He knows that. June’s doing something good, and she is happy to do it. There are practically no long-term side effects of donating bone marrow; she’ll just be sore for a little while. He knows that, too. But somehow, Alex can’t seem to stop worrying about her. Amy’s with her, so there’s nothing to worry about. But she’s in DC to be near their parents, and Alex can’t get there until after his classes, and he can’t seem to do anything but worry. His leg bouncing is probably annoying the person next to him in lecture, but they’re not going to snap at the president’s son, and he’s too nervous to care. His sister is going into surgery; surely they understand. 

After lecture, it’s an agonizing drive to the airport. On the way, Amy texts to let him know June’s going into the operating room, a picture of her smiling and offering the camera two thumbs up attached.Alex sends it on to the “Souper 666″ group chat, and Nora and Pez both respond that she’s doing well and is excited for the procedure. Pez changes the name of the group to “June is a SUPERHERO”, and Alex corrects it to “June is a SOUPERHERO”. Not even the pun mocking Henry’s typo calms his nerves.

Henry’s waiting with the plane, and he takes one look at Alex before he pulls him into a hug. Alex is too worried to even acknowledge it. June should be out of surgery soon after they get there, if it all goes well. That feels like a massive, massive if. 

Even on the plane, even with Henry there, he can’t sit still. they’re somewhere over Virginia, still lifetimes away from DC and June, when the buzzing worry in his head is interrupted by Henry’s voice. “Alex, please. Talk to me. I want to help you, but I don’t know what you need. Do you want to talk about it? Or I could distract you with a book or something, or you could tell me about class today?”

He sounds worried, too, and it takes Alex a second to process that Henry’s worried about him. He feels a bit of guilt worm its way into his fear.

“I just... I don’t know what I want, or need, other than... I need her to be okay, but I can’t do anything to help that happen, and we’re just stuck in this tiny plane, and I feel sick…so anxious and sick and like my heart is trying to beat its way out of my chest, but that doesn’t help anyone, and it will just make everyone worry about me when really June is the one who something bad might happen to; people get seriously hurt with general anesthesia all the time; Raf’s dad paralyzed a lung going under like this. I... I’ve looked at cases for school where people were hurt even worse to determine if they could sue. I... I’m so scared, but I know being scared is pointless, but--” Henry’s wrapped him in a hug, and Alex stops talking to let himself cry instead. Henry rubs his back gently.

“It’s okay. She’s going to be fine, and I’m sorry we couldn’t be there earlier, but we both know she didn’t want you to miss class. She’s going to be okay, Alex. I can’t promise that, but I know it. She’s going to be just fine.” 

“But what if she’s not? What if something bad happens?”

“Then you and your family will rally around her, and the rest of us will, too, and you’ll probably pass a law making sure whatever happens never happens to anyone else ever again. But you don’t have to worry about that, because she’ll be fine. She’s going to be okay, and so are you. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

“But how do you know?”

“Haven’t you read the fairy tales? I’m a prince. Things work out for us,” Henry says, moving a hand from Alex’s back to wipe a tear off his cheek. Alex sniffles, but he laughs a bit, too. “We’re going to be okay. Princes and their partners always life happily ever after, remember?” Henry asks softly, and Alex nods, laughing a little more. Henry guides him to their seats, pulling him close and running careful fingers through his hair.

“I... I guess I’m just... I don’t know what I’d do without her.” Alex says softly. “I love her so much, and she... she’s always just there for me. I don’t have to ask, or... or even know that something’s wrong, sometimes. Sometimes she knows I’m having a problem before I do, and she helps me fix it before it even becomes something I would have noticed. It’s... it’s scary, to think that something might happen to her and there wouldn’t be anything I could do.” People like June should be safe from bad things happening to them.

“I know. But she’ll be alright. It’s a minor procedure, and people do it all the time, and it’s going to help someone else. Then, we both know she’s going to write about it, and a thousand other people around the country are going to sign up for something that helps save lives.”

“I know. She’s so good. She’s a superhero,” Alex says. As much as he hates it, his eyes are starting to drift closed on their own. Henry’s hand is still in his hair, and being as worried as he was all day was more exhausting than he’d realized.

“So are you.”

“The prince and the super hero. You should write that; you’d be good at it. It could be a comic book for kids who don’t like big books.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” Henry says. He’s still playing with Alex’s hair as they lapse into a comfortable quiet. The next thing Alex knows, Henry is shaking his shoulder gently.

“We’re about to land, Mr. Super Hero. Time to go see your sister.”

“Is she out?” Alex asks, pushing himself up off Henry’s lap so he can rub his eyes and push his hair down flat.

“Not yet, but it shouldn’t be long now. And from what we’ve been hearing, everything is going well.”

Alex nods. They land, and Henry leads the way to the waiting car, trusting that their overnight bags will get to the White House without them. On their way to the hospital, they get a text that June is out of surgery and everything went well, so they find her in a recovery room, just starting to wake up. She’s doing absolutely fine. A few hours later, June is feeling great, and they’re all sent home with instructions for her to take it easy for the next week or so and a bottle of pills in case she gets any hip or back pain. 

That night, they go to bed in bedrooms across the hall from each other, just like they did every night back in Travis County. Around midnight, when Alex gets up for water and sees her door open, he can’t resist peek into her room. She’s asleep with Nora and Pez on either side, bracketing her as if to keep her safe from anything that might want to hurt her. Alex just smiles and pulls the door closed before he goes back to Henry, knowing that they’re all in good hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Bone marrow donation is actually super safe and also important; you can find out more about it at bethematch.org!  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	25. “You’re not hurting me, you’re not heavy. I’ve got you, love.”

When Alex finally, _finally_ comes home, he has to take a second in the entryway to just let himself feel it. He’s loved their brownstone since the moment he saw it, but something about coming back to it now, after running from class to work to the White House and back to a midterm all weekend, feels almost magical. David is there, weaving between his legs and hopping up to brace himself against Alex’s leg, licking his hand until Alex rubs his ears, then follows him into the living room. Henry is on the couch, and he smiles and starts to get up, but Alex is there to tackle him in a hug before he can. Henry just pulls him closer until Alex is fully on top of him, his head on Henry’s chest.

“Hello, Love. How’s your mom?”

“She’s good. Keeping Zahra and Leo busy, but I wouldn’t expect anything different. How are you?”

“Better now,” Henry says, running a hand through Alex’s hair. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.” They’d been apart for what feels like ages. Henry was on a fundraising tour of the UK for a week, and they’d only had time for a lunch together before Alex had to leave. 

“Bea and Pez say hello. Mum, too.”

“Same with my family. Mom is hoping we can both go down for the Fourth.”

“That would be good. I’m sure they’ll do something at the youth shelter, but I don’t think they’ll need me for it. Maybe we could invite Bea and Pez to join us. Mum, maybe, too, if she’s not busy; I think she’d like your mom.”

“We could call it a cultural exchange or something. I mean, I know it’s about our independence from you, but we could give People something about coming back together or something.”

Henry hums his assent, his hands still in Alex’s hair. After a few minutes of quiet contentment, Alex shifts a bit, and Henry winces as Alex’s elbow goes directly into his side. 

“Fuck, sorry; I’ll get off if I’m hurting you.”

Henry just pulls him closer, kissing his forehead. “You’re not hurting me, you’re not heavy. I’ve got you, love. If you think I’m letting you up now that I’ve finally got you back, I think we need to call June and see if she can spare the brain cell for a bit.”

Alex laughs, resting his head back on Henry’s chest. “If you’re sure I’m not hurting you, I’m never moving.”

“I should hope not.” He’d been tense when he came in, but he’s started to melt into Henry, and Henry couldn’t be happier about it. If Alex is anywhere near as touch starved as he’s gotten after a week apart, he needs to stay as close as possible for as long as they can. They order dinner from Henry’s phone, and Alex doesn’t move until he has to go get it. Even then, when they’re sitting up, he cuddles up to Henry’s shoulder to hear all about Henry’s tour and tell him about how his family is doing in DC. And, when their dinner is done, Henry gets up to throw their trash away, and when he comes back, Alex settles all but on top of him again. David hops up on the couch to lie across them, and before they know it, he’s snoring. Alex isn’t far behind, and Henry rubs his back as the episode plays out, then he gets a half-asleep Alex upstairs and into pajama pants so they can go to bed.

As they’re falling asleep, Alex half on top of Henry, he leans up to kiss Henry’s chin. “I love you. I missed you.”

He’s snoring before Henry can respond, but he kisses Alex’ forehead anyway, running his hands through Alex’s hair and murmuring, “I love you” before he drifts off to sleep, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	26. “I got you a trophy, it’s only plastic, but it’s for being the best human I know.”

It starts as a joke; the youth shelter needed prizes for a fundraiser talent show and the set of trophies came with one more than they need. Alex has a hard week coming up, so Henry takes it home with him, and when Alex gets home from his first day at a new internship, Henry is there with take out from Alex’s favorite restaurant. After they’ve eaten and Henry has heard about how much Alex likes the internship, Henry goes to get dinner and comes back with a trophy full of ice cream.

“I got you a trophy, it’s only plastic, but it’s for being the best human I know. I’m proud of you, and I’m so glad you like the internship.”

Alex laughs, pulling Henry in for a hug. 

Henry thinks that’s the end of it, but two days later, he’s finishing up an essay about queer history for Teen Vogue when Alex comes in to hug him from behind, setting the little trophy in front of him. 

“I got you a trophy. It’s for being the smartest, most amazing person I know.” 

Henry laughs, finishing his last sentence before leaning back into Alex’s chest and letting him reach around to scroll back up, reading through the article before Henry sends it off. This is Henry’s favorite part of finishing an article, and the he sets the little trophy up on the edge of his desk with a smile, then relaxes back into Alex’s arms.

Alex’s first voter registration canvassing trip with the congresswoman he’s working for is that weekend, and he comes home drenched in sweat but grinning. Henry greets him with a trophy full of Mexican Coke. 

“I got you a trophy, for working so hard and getting so many people registered to vote. I know how much it mattered to you, and I’m so proud.”

Alex smiles, finishing the Coke before he pulls Henry in for a disgustingly sweaty hug. Henry wants to complain, but Alex is so happy he can’t bring himself to whine. David, who’d gone with Alex wearing a bandana supporting the congresswoman, is licking the sweat off Alex’s leg, and Henry bends down to rub his ears. The trophy takes up residence on Alex’s nightstand. 

It lives there until one morning, Henry needs to focus on writing after a long night, so Alex finds him as he’s making coffee in the kitchen. This wouldn’t be an issue, except that Alex finds him just as he’s pouring a dash of vinegar into it. His excuses that it’s what Victor Hugo did and that it takes the bitterness out of the coffee don’t have any effect on Alex’s indignation. He disappears shaking his head, then returns to plonk the plastic trophy down in front of Henry.

“I got you a trophy. It’s for making the worst, most offensive fucking coffee known to man. I’m personally offended by that cup of coffee. I hope you’re happy.”

Henry just laughs, drinking his non-bitter coffee before kissing Alex. Alex complains, whining that he can taste the horror coffee on Henry’s breath. Henry just laughs, taking the trophy with him as he goes up to the office to get started. 

He already has a plan for how he’ll get the trophy back to Alex. It will take some work, and probably some help from Nora, but he knows exactly the way to do it. 

They’re scheduled to go to the Lake House for a week soon, and Alex doesn’t notice when Henry slips the trophy into his suitcase. They fly down, and Alex doesn’t know what’s coming, but Henry does. He knows it will go well, but he’s still nervous. Asking Alex to marry him is hardly the same as making bad coffee or having a successful voter registration trip, after all. Alex wants to marry him; when Henry talked to Nora she told him that Alex wants to ask but doesn’t want to feel like he’s making Henry choose between getting married and staying a prince. So Henry’d bitten the bullet, and he’s looked into what it would mean to abdicate, and he knows he wants a big gay wedding in Westminster but once that’s done he’s ready to step down. He needs Parliament’s permission, but he doesn’t doubt he’ll get it, and Bea has promised to make sure whatever royal funds he would get go to the same charitable causes he’s already supporting. He’s ready, assuming Alex says yes.

It rains their first night at the Lake House, so they spend it inside, playing Mexican Train and other games Oscar bought for the house. But the next, it’s a clear night, so once the sun has fully set, Henry pulls Alex up and out to the pier. The first time they were here like this, Henry ran. He let his fear get the best of him, and instead of letting himself admit that a relationship with Alex was even remotely possible, he disappeared. Now, though, Alex’s hand is in his, and he’s not letting go. 

It’s still a bit cold to swim this late, so they kick off their shoes and let their feet dangle in the water, taking in the peace and quiet of this place.

“I got you something,” Henry says after a moment. Alex looks at him, and with his feet in the lake and the fireflies around his head, he looks like a nature spirit that five year old Henry would have pretended he didn’t have a crush on. “It’s a trophy. It’s for being the best person I know, and the best part of my life. It’s for being the person I love more than anyone, who saw me for everything I am and loved me anyway. It’s for being the love of my life and the person who makes everything better. It’s for being the person I want to spend my life with. It’s... there’s something inside, and it’s to ask you if you want to spend your life with me, too. I love you, and I want to scream it to the world in the loudest, most public, most permanent way I can imagine. I--”

“Yes. Yes, absolutely, yes. I love you so much.”

“I didn’t even ask yet,” Henry laughs, taking the ring Alex has pulled out of the trophy to hand him. 

“Sorry. I’ll... I’ll let you, but...”

“Alex Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, if I abdicate, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

“Yes, of course I’ll marry you; I-- if you what? You’d... you’d abdicate for me?”

Henry’s in the process of sliding the ring onto Alex’s finger, and he looks up. “I was planning on it. So you can run for congress and become the best politician this country has ever seen.”

Alex only waits until the ring is fully on his finger to pull Henry in for a kiss. 

The second they’re back to the house, Alex is admiring the ring in the light. It’s a simple band, gold, but there’s something familiar about it that he can’t quite place. 

“It... it was my dad’s wedding ring. When I told them I wanted to ask you to marry me, Bea and Philip and Mum all agreed that--” Alex cuts him off for the second time that night, this time with a kiss. Henry melts into it, feeling the last of his worries about the proposal fading away, leaving only the question of why he’d ever had them in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact; putting vinegar in his coffee is an actual thing Victor Hugo did! Cursed fact; it’s not bad!
> 
> Also, royal men apparently don’t traditionally wear wedding rings, but if there’s one couple before Alex and Henry to break with tradition to show off how in love they are, I feel like it’s Arthur and Catherine (especially because Arthur’s not originally a royal and might not even be fully aware that they’re breaking tradition).   
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	27. “God, you are so fucking cute”

“Wait. You’ve never seen _Avatar_?” They’re curled up on the couch, and Alex had casually noted that _Avatar_ is on Netflix now, expecting Henry to be equally excited. To his horror, he’d been met with nothing but confusion.

“You mean the film? The one on Pandora? I thought it was alright; I wish they’d expanded on the anti-imperialist--”

“No, not the fucking... the TV show. The best show to ever exist on this planet. That’s it. We’re watching Avatar. I can’t believe you’ve never seen this cultural masterpiece.”

Henry just hums his assent, dipping his pita bread in hummus as he leans against Alex’s shoulder, and Alex starts the show. He’s quoting the intro along with the second episode, all the drama and excitement of the narrator in his voice. Henry just laughs, leaning over to kiss Alex’s cheek, but Alex actually shoves him off.

“No, not now. We can’t make out now. You need to watch the show, Henry, you don’t understand how important this is. It’s a cultural touchstone. It’s the American millenial’s childhood.You have to watch it.”

Henry just rolls his eyes, setting down the hummus to cuddle up against Alex’s arm, obediently training his eyes on the TV. He’s quiet through the second episode, but when he sees the title of the third, he looks up to Alex with wide eyes.

“Are they... it he’s the last airbender, does that mean he’s not going to find anyone at the Southern Air Temple? He’s only twelve; do we have to see him realize how many people died?”

Alex looks at him for a second, all wide eyes and cozily rumpled hair, then pulls him closer and kisses his forehead.

“God, you are so fucking cute.”

“That doesn’t answer my question, Alex! Are you going to make me watch a twelve year old realize his entire culture was destroyed? Is this going to make me cry?”

“It’ll be alright,” Alex promises, his hand running through Henry’s hair. Henry’s next comment comes a bit later, and on a much happier topic.

“Did they name the lemur for Momotarō?”

“Who?”

“Momotarō, the Japanese folk hero. He came out of a peach and got together a band of misfits to fight demons.” Alex just rolls his eyes.

“You’re too smart for your own good.”

They keep watching, slowly cuddling closer to each other and keeping their commentary minimal. When it gets late, Alex is the one to turn it off and move them upstairs to bed, and Henry is the one who complains that they should keep watching. The next night, he’s ready with it pulled up when Alex gets home, and Alex just laughs as he settles down beside him, keeping David off their laps until after they’ve eaten dinner.

It becomes a routine. Every night, they’re cuddled up on the couch, Alex’s favorite children’s TV show playing. Henry has commentary, and Alex smiles when he mumbles things about how Aang’s waterbending is influenced by air, or an excitement at a reference to an ancient Egyptian festival. Alex discovers all over again that Henry has a degree in English literature and an eye for spotting things like parallels and character development. Henry discovers that Alex has a love for Sokka and gets to see photos of him and June dressed as Sokka and Katara, which was apparently a three-year costume, with Nora as Suki, Toph, and Zuko (”Mom and dad were busy those years, so Abuelita just altered our costumes to make them fit”). A few of them include Ellen as Aang and Oscar dressed as Appa, all of them grinning.

When Aang goes into the avatar state for the first time, Alex cheers so loudly he scares David off the couch. Near the end of the first season, Alex jolts upright and out of their cuddle pile to shout, “WAIT I had a crush on Zuko!” and Henry just laughs, pulling him back down to cuddle. That night, he finds Alex awake with Sokka/Zuko fanfic up on his phone and just laughs, and Alex reads it aloud until Henry falls asleep, smiling and enjoying a new part of Alex’s life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	28. “Your comfort and happiness is more important to me than some stupid dinner”

After all the dinners they’ve been to together, this one should be a piece of cake. It should be no different from any of the others, just a networking dinner with Alex’s department. Henry’s only job is to look pretty and be charming, which should be easy. And even if it wasn’t that easy, he’s excited. He wants to meet Alex’s peers and professors, he really does. But somehow, when the day comes, he just feels off. There doesn’t seem to be anything that’s triggered it; nothing’s wrong at home and things go well at work. Bea and Pez are doing well back in the UK, and even David is doing well. But as the event gets closer and closer, without any explanation, he just feels worse and worse.

He and Alex get to get ready together, side by side in the mirror as they fix their hair and Alex reaches up to kiss Henry’s jaw. And Henry should feel good, or excited, or happy, but somehow, he doesn’t even feel fine. He doesn’t have the words for it, he just feels wrong somehow. But he smiles, and he kisses the side of Alex’s forehead, giving David an extra scratch on the ears before they’re loading into a car and heading to the dinner. Alex is happy, talking about how excited he is to introduce Henry to his favorite professors and his friends from class. Henry just nods and lets him talk, trying to psych himself up for a night of meeting strangers and being in public, even if all he wants is to curl up on the couch with Alex, David, and Bake Off. This is important to Alex, and he wants to see Alex’s world, so he’ll go, and he’ll do everything he can to make sure Alex has a good night.

The dinner is at a place called the Prince George Ballroom, a fact that makes Alex grin and nudge Henry’s side. Henry smiles a bit, because it is ironic, even if everything feels pointlessly wrong. Alex’s face falls a bit.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’re sure?”

“Of course. I’m excited to see a bit of your world.”

Alex takes another second to study him, and Henry does his best to look excited. Then someone calls Alex’s name, and he turns with a grin.

“Elle! Henry, this is Elle, she’s in my civ pro class; she’s brilliant.”

Elle grins, shaking Henry’s hand. “Alex is just being nice; we’re partners on a project and I think he’s trying to get out of the parts he doesn’t like.”

Alex laughs. He’s so loose and free and happy, and Henry smiles, shaking her hand and trying to find a version of his press face that won’t worry Alex. They go into the dinner, and Alex is shining. He’s so happy, so completely in his element, and Henry knows he can’t pull him away from this. No matter how awful he feels, his only option is to put on a smile and pretend things are okay. 

He meets Alex’s other classmates. Then he meets a TA for one of his classes, and they joke about what a nightmare Alex can be before Alex drags Henry over to introduce him to his con law professor, and Henry gets a chance to thank him for defending them on his podcast after they were outed, which should make him feel better, but he still doesn’t quite feel right. Finally, Henry escapes to the drinks table, hoping that maybe he’ll feel better after a moment to himself and with a drink in his system. Alex finds him there a few minutes later, and Henry doesn’t have time to get his face under control before Alex frowns.

“H? You’re sure you’re okay? We can go if you’re not.”

“I’m fine; you’re having fun. We can stay. I’ll keep it together.”

The crease between Alex’s eyebrows deepens, and he moves closer to rest a hand on Henry’s arm, studying Henry’s face a bit. When Henry ducks his head, Alex just comes closer, and Henry knows he can tell something’s wrong.

“Hey, we can go. How... how long have you wanted to leave?”

“Honestly? Since... since before we got here. I’m sorry. I know this is important, and it’s something you were looking forward to, and I was, too, I swear. I swear I wanted to come, but it’s just... it’s been an off day somehow. I’m sorry. We can stay, and if it gets to be too much I can go to a toilet or somewhere.”

“You didn’t... you could have said something. Your comfort and happiness is more important to me than some stupid dinner; I don’t care about any of this as much as I care about you.”

“I’m sorry. I did want to come, I promise.”

“I know. I-- Professor, hi.” Henry smiles and interacts with the professor like he’s expected to, but if there was ever a confirmation that he should leave an event this interaction is it. The professor leaves, and Alex doesn’t even ask how Henry’s doing, just says, “we’re going. I appreciate that you came, I do, but we... we’re not going to stay, not when you’re not feeling good.”

He somehow gets them through the ballroom without having to talk to anyone, and they’re in the back of a car, Alex wrapping an arm around Henry’s shoulders and letting Henry rest his head on Alex’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I--”

“No. No; you don’t get to apologize for not feeling good. I love you; you’re allowed to not feel great or not want to do things and you don’t have to feel bad about it. I’m sorry we had to come.”

“I did want to,” Henry says, and Alex nods.

“I know. Thank you for coming to as much as you did.”

“Can we... is there anything you want to do when we get home? Just go to bed, I guess?”

“Or we could watch some Bake Off?”

If Henry wasn’t already in love with Alex, that question would have done it. As is, he just melts into Alex, who laughs and brings his hand up to play with Henry’s hair, and Henry melts a bit more, feeling like he can really breathe for the first time all day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I ever write Alex at school, it’s inspired by The Princeton Review’s first year of law school article. It’s just a list of classes and it’s great for writing purposes.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	29. "I need a hug" / “Oh, are you ticklish?”

Somehow, Henry had thought that being a prince here would be different. Eton was full of the sons of politicians and billionaires, and Philip had fit in well enough, so he’d thought surely he would, too. But so far, he’s mostly just been gawked at, fawned over, and asked for his autograph. Everyone wants him in their house, or in their group project, but it’s always more for the fact that he’s a prince than anything about him. That is, until a boy slides in next to him in chapel, holding out a hand with, “I’m Pez, like the sweets.”

“Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, Henry. Are you drawing a spaceship?” Henry blushes, trying to hide it, but Pez leans in for a closer look. “It’s wicked.”

“Thank you.” Henry’s pretty sure that drawing a spaceship isn’t proper princely behavior, but he can’t find it in himself to care, especially not when Pez is treating him like an actual person for the first time since he’s come here.

“We’re meant to be doing a group project in English tomorrow,” Pez says, leaning over to whisper when the pastor starts. “You’re good at English, I know because I see you reading all the time. Be my partner? I’ll do the presentation.”

“Okay.” He’s not sure how to feel about Pez noticing him reading, but he’ll do anything for a partner who will let him get out of presenting for the class. Pez grins at him, and when they are assigned a partnered project in English, the two of them partner up. It’s the beginning of something that Henry’s not sure either of them could have seen coming.

Their first night working together, they’re in Henry’s room, and Pez decides halfway through that it’s too boring, and he’s going to change it. He drags Henry into his own room, and Henry’s not sure he’s ever seen so many bright colors. The furniture in Buckingham and Kensington and Holyrood and every other palace he’s grown up in is the same series of jewel tones or gaudy golds, but Pez’s room is an explosion of every color of the rainbow, each of them turned up to eleven. He looks around with a grin, then says, “pick something.”

“What?”

“For your room. It’s too boring; you have to pick something to make it not boring before we can keep working.” So Henry does; he picks a lava lamp (one of at least three scattered around the room), and Pez helps him find the perfect spot for it before they go back to their project.

He’d never tell anyone, but Henry leaves it on all night, just watching the lava blob up and down and wondering if maybe, he’s made his first friend.

Their project goes well, and that could be the end of it. Henry is half expecting that to be the end of it, but Pez sits next to him for lunch, and they talk about Star Wars and football and what they like to do when they’re not at school. Pez is the first person outside his family to ever laugh at Henry, and Henry doesn’t mind. That Christmas, he asks for a big Star Wars Lego set, and he and Pez build it together during Lent Half. It’s the first thing Henry’s brought for his room. He also brings back socks to help grow Pez’s impressive collection of bright socks and further his fight against Eton’s uniforms, and Pez is absolutely delighted.

From there, he and Pez become inseparable. They do every project together, they pass notes in chapel, and they’re almost always together at meals. After classes are done for the day, they can be found in one of their rooms, and slowly, Henry’s starts to get more personality. Philip comes to visit one day and clearly has some thoughts about it he won’t voice, but Bea loves it, and it makes Henry feel happy. Pez says that’s all it really needs to do, and Henry has to agree with him.

Still, it’s not all perfect. Even with a friend like Pez, one who’s loud and excitable enough to draw as much attention away from Henry as possible, there’s still the simple fact of his royalty. There will always be people who want to push and prod at him, always people wanting pictures or autographs or a chance at a limelight. And sometimes, it gets to be a lot. The first time it gets to be too much while he and Pez are friends, Henry goes where he always does, a little stand of trees where no one finds him. He thinks he’ll be fine there, just by himself, but somehow, he’s not particularly surprised when Pez sits down beside him.

“Want to talk about it?”

“No,” Henry says. He might be crying, and princes probably shouldn’t cry, but he can’t bring himself to care. This is Pez. 

“Okay. Can I help?”

“I think... I think maybe I need a hug.” And Pez doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t try to understand anything. He just hugs Henry tightly. 

He hugs Henry tightly, and when Henry calms down a bit, Pez wiggles his fingers near Henry’s stomach experimentally. Henry pulls back with a squawk, and Pez grins.

“Oh, are you ticklish, your highness?”

“Don’t call me that.”

“But you are ticklish? Come here.” Pez reaches for him, managing to get to him before Henry can get away, and he pins him to the grass and starts to tickle him. Henry’s never met anyone who would tickle a prince, but if anyone would, it’s Pez.

“Oi, stop it! I’ll... I’ll call security,” he manages though his laughter, but they both know it’s an empty threat. Still, Pez sits back on his heels, grinning a bit.

“Better?”

“Better. Thank you.” Henry’s not sure if he can convey his overwhelming gratitude in those two little words, but Pez is the first person he’s met who doesn’t treat him like he’s anyone particularly special, and it’s more refreshing than he’s willing to admit. Pez nods, and Henry gets the feeling Pez knows exactly what he’s thinking.

“Of course, mate. What are friends for? Now, come on, or we’ll be late for prayers.” He helps Henry up off the ground and brushes leaves out of his hair on their way back to their house. And if Henry hadn’t been confident in their friendship before, he knows now that he and Pez are going to be friends for a long, long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t romantic, but I hope that’s alright? Given the trajectory of Alex’s and Henry’s relationship, I couldn’t think of a point where one of them would ask for a hug when they wouldn’t know exactly where the other is ticklish.  
> -  
> Also, as a side note, nothing has radialized me like reading Eton’s wikipedia page. I am disgusted, I am revolted, I dedicate my entire life to our lord and savior, and this is the thanks I get? Anyway, the one redeeming grace of this classist school is Eton Pop Waistcoats, and Pez gets into Pop purely so he can wear one.  
> -  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	30. Hold Me and Never Let Me Go

It has been a day. Frankly, it’s been a long day. And, if he’s going to be specific, it has been a long fucking day. It has been a long fucking day, and between arguing with Ryan from work and Will from class, Alex thinks he might have finally run out of words to talk about how people should care about other people. 

David greets him when he walks through the door, and Alex sits down right there on the floor. David climbs into his lap to lick him, and Alex buries his face in David’s back for a bit, letting the dog lick at his ear. “You’re a good boy, David. A good, good boy, and I love you.”

“I knew it. I knew you were secretly dating me just for access to my dog.” Henry’s voice, all its stupidly perfect vowels and its ridiculously posh intonation, is exactly what Alex needs. 

“I’m stealing him,” he says, holding David closer as he tries to wriggle away. “My therapy dog now.”

After all this time, he’s not really surprised when just his voice is enough to clue Henry in to the fact that he’s not doing well. He’s not particularly surprised when Henry sits down next to him, and David calms down as Henry shifts Alex’s arms enough to get his bag off. It thunks to the floor behind him as Henry asks,“want to talk about it?”

“It’s not anything. Not really. Just a long day.” 

“Want anything in particular?” Henry asks, his hand playing with Alex’s hair, and Alex leans in against him, David still in his arms.

“Hold me and never let me go,” he says, and so Henry winds his arms around Alex and pulls him and David in even closer, creating a concentric ring of hugs that leave Alex swaddled in affection.

“I’m sorry it was long,” Henry says softly. “If we order barbecue, will that make it better or worse?”

“Here? Can we do burritos instead? I want to eat my weight in cheese and beans and rice.”

“Okay.” Henry kisses the top of his head, and he keeps Alex close with one arm as he orders their food. He only has to ask a few questions about Alex’s order, and those are things Alex changes every time, and something about that makes him melt into Henry’s arms even more. When dinner is ordered, Henry kisses the top of his head again and says, “feel like moving this to the couch? Might be a bit more comfortable, but I’d have to let go, at least a bit.”

“Not if you try hard enough you won’t.” And suddenly it’s become a game, Henry trying to get up while holding on, Alex trying to do the same without dropping David. They manage it, somehow, and with a few near-tumbles and some help bracing against the wall, Henry’s hauled Alex to his feet and gotten them both settled on the couch without letting go.

“ _Parks and Rec_?” Henry asks, but Alex shakes his head.

“Can we watch _Bake Off_? That makes you happier. And it makes me think of you instead of June, and it’s... it’s cozier.” 

“Okay.” Henry finds the show, and Alex’s favorite season, which makes Alex lean up and kiss the bottom of his jaw.

“You know I’ll have to let you go when food gets here, right?” Henry asks softly, and Alex whines. But when their doorbell rings, he lets Henry up nonetheless, muttering something about how he’s going to replace the warmth of a hug with the warmth of a burrito the size of a small child. It helps that David stays nestled in his lap, sound asleep, his paws twitching occasionally in his dream. When Henry comes back into the room with their food and catches sight of Alex there, cuddled up watching Bake Off with David, he can hardly believe that he gets to have this. It’s such a soft moment, a quiet one, and Alex looks so much better than he had when he’d come home. Then Alex looks up and sees him waiting in the doorway. He rolls his eyes.

“Come on, you sap. Bring me my child.”

“You’re a menace. But you look like you’re doing better,” Henry says, kissing him as he sits down and Alex starts to dig through the bags like he’s looking for treasure.

“It’s all David’s doing. He’s a wonderful therapist.”

“He’s the hardest working member of this family,” Henry says, laughing a bit as David lets out a little sleep bark that seems to agree with him. Alex nods.

“And the cutest. But you come pretty close. Thank you.” Henry just kisses him, but before it can go any farther than that, Alex puts a hand on his chest. “I love you. I do. But right now, I need a child-sized burrito in my system.”

Henry laughs, stealing another quick kiss as he unpauses the TV and Alex unwraps his burrito. Bake Off plays, and David sleeps, and they eat dinner leaning against each other, and by the time they’re done, Alex has fallen asleep on Henry’s shoulder.

And Henry can’t imagine a way this could be better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like Alex doesn’t really watch much TV for fun on his own, so he doesn’t have a show that’s his per say, just shows he watches with other people ( _Parks and Rec_ with June, _Drag Race_ with Nora, etc). This is clearly because he can’t relax enough for TV by himself, not because I couldn’t think of a TV show he’d watch.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	31. "I need a hug" /  "It's lonely here without you" /  "I haven't slept in four days"

Henry knows they’ve been spoiled. He knows it’s normal for couples to spend time apart; hell, Shaan and Zahra are still living in different cities, and as far as he knows, they’re planning on doing so for the next four years. But that doesn’t change the fact that the brownstone feels empty without Alex in it, or the fact that Henry can’t sleep. Eventually, he rolls over and checks the time. 1 AM. That means it’s 11 PM in Colorado. Alex should still be awake. Henry calls him, scratching David’s ears as the dog starts to wake up with Henry’s movement. Alex picks up on the second ring.

“Can’t sleep?” He sounds like he’s smiling, like it’s been a good day. This might have been the day they took off to go skiing; Henry can’t quite remember what his schedule had been. It’s written down somewhere.

“I miss you,” Henry says, and he hears Alex sigh on the other end of the line.

“I miss you, too. You would have loved today; we saw a bunch of deer on our hike. And a really, really eager chipmunk. I’ll send you some pictures in a bit.”

“I’d like that.”

“How are things there? You sound tired.”

“Things are fine. Good.”

“You don’t sound like things are fine.”

“They really are, it’s just... it’s lonely here without you. It was easier in Buckingham somehow; you didn’t belong there. But now that I see all the places you’re not, it’s harder.”

“I know. It’s harder there when you’re gone, too. But I’ll be home soon, okay?”

“I know. And I am fine, really. It’s good to hear your voice.”

“It’s good to hear yours. I keep thinking about how I have to take you out here sometime; we can stay in Raf’s house and hike mountains, and if we play our cards right we won’t have to see anyone who’ll want to take pictures or bother us.”

“I’d like that.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? You... you sound really tired, and it’s late there,” Alex says after a moment. Henry holds in a laugh. Of course Alex has realized the time difference; of course he’s worried.

“I am, don’t worry. I just... without you, everything feels wrong somehow. It’s stupid; I’ll be alright. I just need a hug and I’ll be good as new.”

“I know what you mean. I feel like I haven’t slept in four days,” Alex confesses. “I know supporting Raf is important, and I know I’m helping him do something that really matters, but it’s hard missing you. I want to cuddle you, and hug you, and squeeze David between us and never let go.” 

Henry does laugh a bit at that. “When you come home, that’s what we’ll do. The poor dog won’t know what’s hit him.”

“I’ll see about bringing a toy home to bribe him into cuddles,” Alex says, and there’s a smile in his voice. He sounds lighter, too, and Henry realizes that he’s not the only one who’s been feeling a bit stretched thin. He’s going to say something else, but he yawns before he can, and Alex says, “see if you can get some sleep, alright? I can stay on and read or something if you want, just so we feel closer.”

“I’ll stay up to listen if you read. But I will try to sleep when we’re done. You, too? Or at least try to turn in at a decent time? I know you’re overworking yourself.”

Alex scoffs. “How dare you. But I will. I’ve just got one more thing to finish up, then I’m in bed.”

They say their goodbyes, and Henry hangs up, making sure his phone is charging as he rolls back over to cuddle David. Alex is still far away, but he feels better now, and between the comfort of Alex’s voice and his own exhaustion, Henry drifts off into pleasant dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels like David’s been playing a bigger role in my fics recently, but consider: I love him.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	32. “You’re a disappointment.” / “Don’t die on me– Please.” / “I never meant to hurt you.”

For all his brains, all his education and study and general intellectualism, Henry can be a real dumbass. Going to a club on the anniversary of his dad’s death was a dumbass move. Going alone was a dumbass move. Calling Shaan when he was drunk off his ass was a dumbass move. Going to a meeting with Shaan hungover the next day instead of calling in sick was a dumbass move. Really, everything he’s done since leaving Alex in the States two days ago has been a dumbass move. Bea had thought that maybe being together on the anniversary of their dad’s death would help them all, let them process their grief or something, and he’d agreed to come a few days earlier than Alex was able to so that it could be just the four of them. And that was the dumbass move that started the dumbass snowball that’s left him here, alone in a country where everyone is disappointed in him. 

It all comes to a head just after his meeting with Shaan, where he’d been uncomfortably hungover and even more uncomfortably aware that Shaan is not happy with him. He finds Philip in the kitchen, apparently packing a picnic basket for him and Martha to share in Kensington Gardens, and Philip says something about how Henry looks tired. Maybe, by itself, it wouldn’t have meant anything. But this is Philip, and it’s Philip on a shitty morning after a shitty day, and it’s just enough to make Henry snap. 

He doesn’t say anything there. He tries to hold it all in, he does. He texts Alex that he misses him, and Alex texts that he’ll be there soon. It’s not soon enough. Henry needs to move, needs to get out of Kensington, and Buckingham, and the whole maze of rooms and people who just want to move him around and poke him and cover him in the mask of a perfect prince. Alex will make it better, but Alex isn’t going to be there until that night, so Henry needs to do something somewhere else until then. And he needs, so desperately, to do it alone.

There’s a trail not too far away from the city that his dad used to take them to. It’s private, and quiet, and it’ll let him do something his dad would have liked. Maybe, it’ll actually feel like he can grieve for once, instead of just trying to stay put together for his family and the press who had somehow decided it was alright to interview them for a story on how his family is “Healing from the Tragedy of Arthur Fox’s Death” on the anniversary of said tragedy. But, wherever he goes, he knows he has to go by himself. As much as he appreciates them, he can’t have PPOs breathing down his neck or following him. He can’t have Philip or Bea asking if he’s really doing alright, or his mom asking if he wants to talk. And, no matter what, he can’t have Shaan giving him that look again. 

So he does what he always does when he wants to be on his own. He unearths a motorcycle helmet Shaan gave him years ago, takes Shaan’s backup keys from the rack in the garage, and borrows Shaan’s motorcycle. Between the full facial coverage of the helmet and the stark contrast to his public image, he figures he’s safe enough on a motorcycle, just another driver in a busy city. He can feel the wind on his hands, and around his body. The motorcycle hums under him, heat from its motor warming his legs through his pants. It’s nice. it’s nice to feel things like this, to feel the movement and the world around him as it rushes over his body.

He’s just getting out of the city when his phone rings through the helmet’s bluetooth. It’s Alex, so Henry answers, slowing down a bit so he can concentrate on talking to Alex like he’s not on a fear-induced motorcycle joyride through the country.

The first thing Alex asks is, “where are you?”

And, well. “Why?”

“After last night, I changed my flight so I could surprise you, I asked Bea to get you to the airport, but she says she hasn’t seen you all morning, and Shaan says he doesn’t know where you are, either.”

“I can meet you at the airport,” Henry says, wondering briefly who exactly told him about last night. He doesn’t remember everything, but he’s pretty sure he spent part of it sobbing outside of a London club until someone came and got him in a car. He’s not sure he wants Alex to know that. “Heathrow?”

“You still didn’t say where you are.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll meet you at Heathrow. When?”

“We’re starting descent, so probably about twenty minutes. I should get off the phone, but H? I... I love you, okay? Always will.”

“I love you. I’ll see you soon.”

Henry turns the motorcycle around, pulling into the other lane in a move that’s not entirely legal, but the road is empty enough out here that it doesn’t matter. He’s about thirty minutes from Heathrow, which means he’s thirty minutes from Alex. There’s a private airstrip there that they use whenever they land; it’s where Alex will be. He speeds up a bit, a tiny smile making its way to his face when he thinks about how Alex will react to the motorcycle. He thinks about Alex’s arms around his waist holding on tightly as they drive, and he’s grateful that Shaan keeps an extra helmet in the seat. He’d wanted to be alone, but really, Alex doesn’t count. He can take Alex out to the trail, and maybe Alex can help convince him that he hasn’t ruined everything. It’ll be nice, to show Alex his dad’s trail and have Alex there with him.

He pulls up next to the plane just as they’re locking the stairs down, and he waits until Alex is getting out of the plane and looking curiously at him to pull the helmet off, shaking his hair out a bit and looking up to the top of the stairs, where Alex’s jaw is on the ground. He parks the motorcycle and climbs off to meet Alex at the bottom of the stairs, and Alex wraps him in a hug that feels just a bit tighter than necessary. Which means, for a day like today has been, it’s exactly as tight as it needs to be.

“I love you. I’m proud of you. I am very into you right now.”

“There’s an extra helmet in the seat,” Henry says. He adds an, “if you want” to the end, but Alex is already headed toward the motorcycle.

“Where did this come from?”

“It’s Shaan’s. He taught me how to ride a while back because they can get around cars if I needed to escape quickly.”

“I need to send that man a fruit basket,” Alex mutters, and Henry smiles. Moments later, the crushing realization that Shaan’s still mad at him, and will probably be more upset after this, crashes down on him. He pulls his helmet on so that Alex won’t see his face, but as he settles and gets Alex set behind him, Alex says, “we’re... I love you. Always, and no matter what.”

“I... I know. I love you, too.” Henry gets them going, instructing Alex to lean into turns, and Alex hugs him tightly. And, for all Henry’s stress and Alex’s weird energy about the day, the ride is fun. It feels like the wind pulls away anything he could ever worry about, and Alex actually laughs behind him.

“This is amazing. Where are we going?”

“Out to the country a bit. There’s a place we used to go with my dad.”

Alex just hums, leaning forward a bit. His helmet is in Henry’s periphery, and Henry hates asking him to move, but he has to. Alex doesn’t seem to mind, bouncing his helmet against Henry’s affectionately before he shifts position a bit.

There’s a bang a moment later, and a red hot pain blooms in Henry’s side, right where Alex’s shoulder used to be. The motorcycle swerves a bit as Alex tightens his grip instantly. Henry corrects and speeds up, a steady stream of swear words filling his helmet.

“Was that a gunshot? Did you see where-- shit!” Alex shouts. There was another shot, and Henry veers into the other lane. A car honks at him, but he pulls out of their way, the weaving maneuvers Shaan taught him coming back in bursts as he ignores the pain in his side.

“Are you hit?”

“No, you?” Alex asks, clinging tighter to Henry. His squeeze doesn’t exactly help the pain in Henry’s side, but it’s worth it to know he’s safe.

“I’m fine. Hang on.” So Alex does hang on, while Henry desperately tries to remember where the safe house is nearby and another gunshot rings out. Alex jumps, and Henry feels another burst of pain, this time higher than the last. So someone is, genuinely, trying to kill him. Somewhere, he tries to decide if that’s more or less interesting than if they were trying to kill Alex, or either of them. It probably doesn’t matter.

The safe house. They have to get to the safe house. Henry speeds up, and Alex says something about shots coming from a car, so Henry pulls into a narrow alley, speeding through and emerging into a street he recognizes, somewhere close to a suburban safe house. He breathes a quiet prayer of thanks to whoever might be looking out for them, and Alex must feel him relax, because his grip relaxes a bit, too.

“Did we lose them?” Henry asks.

“I think so. Where are we going? Where are we now; I can tell someone what happened.”

“It’s... we’re going to a safe house. We can deal with things there,” Henry says. His adrenaline has worn off in a moment, and now he just feels tired. It hurts to breathe. Alex’s hug hurts. He’s having to work to keep his eyes focused as they pull up to the safe house and he parks the motorcycle somewhere out of sight. Shaan is going to kill him, but then again, with how much his side hurts, maybe Shaan won’t have to. 

“I’m going to share my location and then call Cash and let him know what happened; do you want to call Shaan and let him figure out what to do? We’re both safe, but they should still...” Alex’s voice reaches him though a layer of cotton, and Henry can’t seem to focus on it enough. When he looks at Alex, there’s blood on the sleeve of his jacket. That shouldn’t be there; Alex said he was alright. Henry reaches a shaking hand out for it, fighting through the pulling, stretching, tearing pain in his side to take the sleeve in his hand. His vision is swimming, but that just means that when he looks up, he gets to see four of Alex’s face.

“You... blood,” he says, truly putting his English language degree to good use.

“I’m fine; it...” Alex’s eyes go wide, and he swears, pulling Henry’s helmet off. Henry blinks up at him owlishly, trying to decide why Alex is suddenly so worried. It’s a bit hard when his face won’t stay still, but it doesn’t make sense. His side doesn’t even hurt anymore, or at least, it didn’t until Alex started trying to get him off the motorcycle. The shifting pulls at his side, and there’s a strangled cry of pain. A second later, he realizes it’s his own.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I’m sorry, baby, I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you, we just need to get you inside so we can be safe. I’ll take care of everything, I promise, we just have to get you inside.”

Henry’s not sure why they have to get inside, but it matters to Alex, so he does his best to stay on his feet and get inside. The ground isn’t being particularly helpful, with all its swaying, but Alex’s arm is around him, and that feels nice. He leans against Alex, glad Alex is there with him. Alex is talking to someone, and Henry isn’t paying especially close attention until he hears Shaan’s name.

Shaan is going to hate him after this. He was already disappointed, but now Henry’s ignored everything he said. He’s been stupid, and he’s put himself and Alex in danger, and Shaan has every right to be disappointed. 

Shaan deserved a better charge. He deserved someone like Philip, who might have a stick up his ass, but at least it’s a stick that kept him out of trouble. Or maybe even someone like Alex, someone who’s reckless sometimes, but at least he brings someone with him when he is. Or someone like Bea.

At the thought of Bea, a sob escapes his throat. She’s going to be upset with him, too. She was the one who got them all here, so she might blame herself, but that feels even worse than if she was just hurt by his idiocy.

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” Alex says, but his voice is shaking as he bends over, hunting in a flower pot. “You’re going to be okay. I promise. Just... just hang on; you’re going to be okay, I’ve just got to find the fucking--” he’s crying. Alex shouldn’t be crying; he said he wasn’t hurt.

“Are you okay?” Henry manages. It might just be whatever’s happening with his vision, but he could swear Alex’s hands are shaking.

“Yes. Yeah, I’m okay, baby. I’m just fine, just worried about you. But I don’t have to be, because Shaan’s getting help, and you’re... you’re going to be okay.”

“Shaan’s mad at me,” Henry says. “He... I called him last night but I was drunk. Then... then I saw him this morning, and he’s upset. I haven’t been fair to him. He... he deserved better than me.” 

Alex has them inside, and he’s letting Henry slide down the wall and onto a nice, cool tiled floor. It feels good to finally have something stay still, and the coolness feels nice, and Henry lets his eyes start to drift closed.

“No. No, no, no, you can’t... Henry, stay with me, please. Don’t die on me-- please, I can’t... I came all this way to tell you I love you, and i’m proud of you, and you’re the best person I’ve ever known and you can’t... stay with me.” When Henry forces his eyes back open, Alex is really crying. Henry reaches a hand out to try and wipe one away, but it just leaves a red smear on Alex’s cheek. Alex takes it in both is hands anyway, holding it close. 

“Wha’d’ya mean you came...” his words are all running together, jumbling up in his mouth, but Alex doesn’t seem to mind.

“I... you called me last night, too. You said you were sad, and that you wanted someone who wouldn't be mad if you had to cry. And I said I’d always love you, and I’d come as soon as I could so that I could show you just how much I adore you. So you... you’ve got to stay with me. Shaan doesn’t think you’re a disappointment, Henry, he loves you. And I do, too, so you’ve... you’ve got to stay here with us so we can prove it to you.”

“I’ll try,” Henry mumbles. His eyelids want so badly to close, but he can’t let them. Alex is too scared in front of him, but talking seems to make Alex less scared, so he says, “I miss my dad.”

“I know. I know you do, baby. I’m sorry I left you alone yesterday. Want to tell me about him? Will that help you stay awake?”

Henry tries. He tries to tell Alex about their hiking trips, or about summers when his dad was filming in the highlands or beach days growing up, but his words are even more jumbled than before, and he can’t seem to find the ones he wants. He’s just so tired. He does find three words that can fit together in a sentence, and he manages to murmur “I love you” before the darkness takes him.

From there it comes in fits and starts. He’s jostled awake when someone picks him up, and there’s a hand in his in the ambulance, another stroking his hair. More movement when they get to the hospital, and he thinks Bea might be crying somewhere. He wants to comfort her, but the inky blackness pulls him in before he can. He wakes again to raised voices, Alex shouting something about why no one cared about emotions. It sounds important, but he can’t be bothered to worry about it as sleep takes him again.

When he wakes up for real, Alex is there, asleep beside his bed. Shaan is at the door, keeping watch. Henry knows he must be a mess when just the sight of Shaan’s back makes him feel enough emotions to elicit a sob. Shaan turns instantly, and Henry ducks his head a bit, but Shaan is across the room in two steps, hugging him fiercely around the shoulders.

“I love you. I’m proud of you. I’m sorry I ever made you doubt that.”

That makes Henry really cry, his arms coming up automatically to wrap around Shaan, his hands grabbing fistfulls of his jacket. Shaan holds him close, apologizing over and over, but Henry shakes his head.

“I love you, too. I’m sorry. I... I’m sorry I stole your motorcycle, and I’m sorry I snuck out, and I’m sorry I called you, and that I was stupid last night, and--”

“Henry. Do not apologize to me for your grief. I should have noticed you were hurting and helped you. It’s my job to look after you, and I failed at that, and I’m sorry. Your boyfriend talked some sense into me, and I’m going to do better in the future. We all are.”

Alex stirs beside the bed, and Shaan steps back a bit to let him wake up and greet Henry, crying into a tight hug about Henry’s bravery and selfless idiocy, and how as hot as he was on the motorcycle if he ever does anything like that again, Alex is going to really kill him. But as he reassures Alex, Henry looks to Shaan and mouths a simple “thank you”. 

Shaan gives him a smile, then rests a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Henry. What you did was... reckless, and you should never do anything like it again, but I am proud of you. And nothing that you do could ever lessen my care for you.”

“I love you, too,” Henry tells him. “I love both of you so much. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Of course. We love you. And we’re proud,” Alex says, his voice muffled by Henry’s chest. Henry strokes his hair, and Shaan gives his shoulder a squeeze before going back to stand guard at the door, sending them a smile as he keeps them safe and Henry plays with Alex’s hair, making sure he feels safe, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so uh... this got away from me? I'm hoping everything made sense; if it didn't please let me know!  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	33. "I'm sick"

The alarm always feels like it goes off too early, but when they’re used to a time zone six hours later, that feels especially true. Still, when Henry opens his eyes, Alex’s face is pressed uncomfortably close to his, putrid morning breath assaulting his nose, and even in the massive gold Baroque bed, the world feels right somehow. Alex’s limbs are draped across the golden sheets, his hair splayed over the white pillowcase, the careless sprawl of sleep turning him into a drooling Apollo in the morning light. His ability to sleep through an alarm will always baffle Henry, especially given that he always manages to get to things relatively on time, but this morning, it just means that Henry gets to admire him in all his raw, unfiltered glory.

The man’s sleeping patterns are an enigma. For how desperately he wants to be close when they fall asleep, pulling Henry to his chest and pressing every bit of their bodies together, he can somehow never seem to maintain that while they sleep. Henry’s woken up with hands and feet and arms and legs all draped over his face or his torso, and once, with the entirety of Alex’s body draped across his chest, as Alex had apparently been half out of bed when he fell back to sleep. This morning, his head is leaning so drastically on Henry’s that it’s partially on top of it, and he’s drooling onto Henry’s cheek. When Henry moves his head, Alex lets out a few sleepy grunts and smushes his face against Henry’s even more. His breath in the morning truly is a disaster, but he seems so soft that Henry can’t bring himself to move away.

His phone vibrates with a text from Bea, asking if he’s up and wants to get breakfast before their morning meeting. He sends her a selfie, trusting that she’ll understand if he doesn’t make it to the kitchen that morning. Still, her text is a reminder that he has to get up, so he runs a hand through Alex’s hair. He’s always loved Alex’s hair, the way it seems to have a mind of its own, the feeling of the soft strands between his fingers and the way it falls against Alex’s forehead. He could spend all day like this, with Alex asleep halfway on top of him, his hands in Alex’s hair.

The spell is broken when Alex sniffles twice, then sneezes directly onto Henry’s face. Henry pulls away automatically, and Alex’s head flops onto the pillow. He yawns massively, then blinks, rubbing his eyes. 

“Come back,” he mumbles, already reaching for Henry, who is a bit busy wiping off his face. Still, he’s never been good at saying no to Alex, especially not when Alex is so beautifully sleepy. He stays sitting up, but he scoots back so that Alex can put his head in his lap, and he returns his hand to Alex’s hair. Alex nestles in, his face finding Henry’s hip and his arms coming around Henry’s legs. 

“Good morning,” Henry says, and Alex groans.

“Not morning yet. Not allowed.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But we’ve got to get up soon.”

“No. Can’t get up. I’m sick. We have to stay here.”

“You sneezed once; I hardly think that justifies ignoring all our responsibilities to stay in bed for the day.”

“It does. I’m a lawyer I make decisions,” Alex says, his voice muffled by the pillow. Henry just smiles, gently massaging Alex’s scalp and deciding not to mention that admission to law school has not, in fact, made Alex a lawyer.

“Well, I’ve got to get up, at least,” Henry reasons, but Alex shakes his head.

“No. I contaminated you. You have to stay here all day and cuddle me.”

“Ah, yes. A single sneeze and I’ve contracted an exotic plague.”

“My plan to take down the monarchy from the inside.”

Henry laughs a bit, pressing a kiss to Alex’s forehead. “I am... so incredibly in love with you,” he murmurs. “I’ll see about getting the afternoon off to spend with you. I’m sorry I’ve got to go, but this is important for Bea’s and my charities. If it was the crown, I’d get out of it for you, I swear.”

Alex grumbles a bit, then moves his face enough to say, “go save the world. I love you.”

Henry bends down to kiss him again, and Alex presses another kiss to Henry’s hand as Henry climbs out of bed. And, even if Henry has to leave far too early, getting to see Alex wake up is a gift in itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	34. "I brought you your coffee"

Alex isn’t sure what time it is when the door to the office opens. He’s got a clock on his desk, not that he bothers to look at it. The professional emails he’d gotten up early to deal with are all set to send at a reasonable time, so he doesn’t have to worry. He’s aware of the morning light filtering through the open window, and then Henry’s there, pressing a kiss to his temple and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. 

“Good morning, love. I brought you your coffee.”

“You’re a saint,” Alex says, leaning back to kiss his jaw. Henry humms, setting the Claremont 2020 mug down on the coaster beside Alex’s computer. 

“What time did you get up today?”

“I’m not sure; early. I wanted to get this done before I went to class, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take.”

“Do you have time for breakfast? I can make pancakes; I think we’ve still got some batter.”

“I’ll do my best.” 

Henry hugs him a bit closer, then lets go, and Alex tries to ignore the disappointment in his voice when he says, “I’ll text you when they’re ready.”

He does manage to make it for pancakes, but he knows Henry can tell he’s distracted. He hates it, but his brain just won’t stop working, thinking ahead to class and a project and the list of things he has to do. On his way out the door, Henry kisses him and says, “I miss you. Come back soon?”

“I... I’ll try.” He’s not sure how to explain the way his brain won’t stop moving. He wants to apologize, but he can’t promise to stop any time soon, and apologizing without changing isn’t fair to Henry. So he sets a reminder in his phone to go home early, and another to pick up falafels from the place they’ve been meaning to try together, and texts Henry that he’s got dinner taken care of. And he prays to whatever saints there might be that he can get his shit together by tonight.

He gets coffee on his way home, and by the time he’s there with dinner, he’s managed to slow his brain down enough that he and Henry can actually spend quality time together. And that’s when Henry brings up the kittens.

He wants them to take in some foster kittens for their birthdays. They’ve been planning a trip upstate for a weekend, but when they get back, Henry wants to see about picking up a litter of foster kittens from their local shelter for a few weeks. He’s got some arguments about how they could help influence more people to do it, and how their schedules are flexible enough that they could make it work, and how David’s been seeming a little lonely, but really, Alex was sold the moment he saw how excited Henry got talking about them. 

The next morning, he’s up early again, this time without emails to send or cases to research, so instead, he stays in bed, looking at kitten websites on his phone until Henry wakes up and guilts him into putting the phone down for some good old fashioned morning cuddles. Alex tells him what he’s learned, and Henry gives him a tired morning smile, tracing kisses down his jaw. 

“I love you,” he says quietly. “I love when you’re here. I mean, I love you with the fire under your ass too, but I especially love it when you slow down some.”

“I’m trying to get better at it. Slowing down, I mean. I’m sorry I’ve been so all over the place recently, but now that we’ve got babies on the way, I’ll do my best to be here for them. And for you.”

Henry laughs at that, muttering a ‘thank you’ into Alex’s shoulder. Alex smiles, his hand playing with Henry’s hair for a moment before he kisses his forehead and gets up to get their coffee and tea started. Henry comes down to find him buttering toast and boiling water, and they spend the morning looking at kittens who need foster parents and planning the best ways to prep their house for them.

They actually pick up the kittens on their way home from their weekend away, and Nora meets them at the brownstone, supposedly to help them set up for the kittens but mostly because she wants to be the first to meet them. She’s the one who names the loud orange one Zest, sparking Henry’s desire to name the others after baking terms as well, which is how they end up with Zest, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Clove, and Sprinkle. 

That night, when Henry’s done with dishes and Alex isn’t in the office, he finds him in the play pen they’ve set up in the guest room (”because they’re _our guests_ , Henry, it’s perfect”). He’s lying down in front of his laptop, Nutmeg under his chin, Zest on his head, and Sprinkle cuddled against to his arm. When Henry gets close enough to see what’s on the laptop, he’s expecting Alex to be working, but instead, _The Aristocats_ is playing. Henry just smiles and takes a picture, and Alex looks up a moment later, blushing a bit.

“I wanted to give them good role models! We can only teach them so much you know; they need to see themselves represented in media.”

“Alex, I don’t know if--”

“It’s important, Henry! Do you want our children to think they have to conform to our human ideals of what is good? How will they ever become good cats if they only ever see humans in media?”

“I don’t think--”

“I won’t have you mocking our children’s role models. Now, get down here and watch with us. Cinnamon and Clove need to be cuddled.”

Henry rolls his eyes, but he settles in next to Alex, resting his head on Alex’s shoulder and calling the two kittens closer to him for cuddles. For all that it’s ridiculous (and it is ridiculous; the kittens don’t understand what’s happening in the movie), it’s quiet. Alex is slowed down enough to experience the moment for once, like he’d been trying to, and the music is good, so Henry presses a kiss to Alex’s cheek and enjoys the movie with his ridiculous boyfriend and their five cat children.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It didn’t really fit here, but David is _fantastic_ with the kittens. He stops sleeping with Alex and Henry so that he can sleep in the kittens’ room and protect them. He’s such a good foster dad.  
> \--  
> UPDATE Y'ALL THERE IS _ART_ FOR THIS FIC AND IT'S AMAZING AND YOU CAN FIND IT [HERE](https://www.deviantart.com/ukiyosplash/art/Alex-the-cat-dad-849560530).  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	35. “I want to protect you.” / “You have… Superpowers?” / “I haven’t slept in four days…”

“Your Britishness is biphobic.” Alex has just gotten home to an empty house, again, and frankly, he’s sick of it. It’s before midnight in the UK, so he’s taken the opportunity to call Henry, and they’ve never been a couple to start with pleasantries. 

“Hello to you, too, sweetheart. What exactly about my ethnicity is offensive?”

“It makes you leave the country. And be so far away from me, and I have to come home to a basically empty house, and that’s not fair. It’s inconveniencing me, personally, so it’s biphobic.”

“I miss you, too.”

“How awful is it this time?” He’s kicked off his shoes and collapsed on the couch, and he puts Henry on speaker. David comes running from the other room at the sound of his dad’s voice, and Alex hopes Henry can hear the click of his claws on the hardwood.

“It’s... not the worst,” Henry says, but Alex can hear how tired he sounds. 

“I wish I was there. I want to protect you.”

Henry laughs a bit, and Alex can all but hear his walls crumble. “I’m not entirely sure I need protecting, but... I wish you were here, too. I miss you a lot.”

“I still want to protect you from all of them. I want to be there to make sure you know you’re loved, and that you’re not cramming too much into your time there. I know you like to make the most of it, but you can’t do that if you’re not looking after yourself.”

“How do you always know what I need to hear?” Henry asks, and Alex shrugs, rubbing David’s ears.

“It’s a gift. One of my many superpowers.”

“You have... superpowers?”

“You ask that as if you haven’t seen all the things I can do in bed. But, I also have the super power of reading your mind. You’re tired. You need to go to bed, but you feel like you’re not allowed to yet because it’s only 10:45 there and you have more you think you should be doing even though you haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep since you left.”

“How do you do that?” Henry asks, a slight chuckle in his voice. Alex grins.

“I told you; superpowers. But I’m serious, baby. You sound tired.”

“I am. I haven’t slept in four days, or at least not well. The bed feels too big and too cold.”

“Alright, well, you should get ready for bed, and then I’ll use another one of my superpowers.”

“Oh, there’s more than the mind reading?”

“There is so much more than the mind reading. Go get ready for bed, and call me back when you’re ready to sleep and I’ll show you.”

Henry agrees, slipping in a last “I love you” before he hangs up. Alex smiles, going to get the guitar June and his dad have talked him into learning, then feeding David and settling on the couch again. He’s making sure it’s in tune when Henry calls back.

“Alright, I’m in bed. What magic powers are you going to use to help me sleep?”

“Well, you know how you said you can’t listen to music, because you get distracted by the lyrics? I’ve got a fix for that.”

Henry hums, sounding amused. Alex puts the phone on speaker and strums a few experimental chords on the guitar, and he hears a little gasp from Henry.

“Tell me if this is distracting, but I think it’s just the thing,” he says. “After all, putting princes to sleep is one of my superpowers.”

“Hmm, mind reading and sleep control. Are you sure you’re a hero in this story? I think I read a fairy tale where those powers were evil.”

“Hush. Are you ready to sleep?”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

With that, Alex begins to play, giving himself a few chords to get used to the strumming pattern before he starts to sing. But then he does, in Spanish, starting part way through the song, though Henry won’t know that.

“ _Ese lunar que tienes  
Cielito lindo, junto a la boca  
No se lo des a nadie   
Cielito lindo, que a mí me toca._” 

He keeps going, finishing out the song and starting it over in a loop as the night starts to settle around him, and he pictures Henry curled around his phone in that massive golden bed he’s always hated, falling asleep. When he’s sung through the song seven times, he pauses, and he can hear Henry’s deep sleeping breaths through the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Alex sings is “Cielito Lindo“ (listen [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMIdNmxISms)), which the internet tells me is a traditional Mexican love song. I like to think Alex’s grandparents sang it to each other/danced to it. The part I quoted here translates to “That mole you have pretty darling / next to your mouth / don't give it to anyone / Pretty little heaven, for it belongs to me" (according to [this translation](https://lyricstranslate.com/en/cielito-lindo-pretty-little-heaven.html#songtranslation)). I also like to think Alex modified the lyrics when he could so that they fit Henry a bit better, as opposed to describing a Mexican girl.   
> Another fun Easter egg, he sings the song seven times because seven is the Biblical number of perfection (seven days to make the world, march around Jericho seven times and blow seven trumpets to knock the walls down, seven seals on seven scrolls at the end of the world, etc).  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	36. “Just how stupid do you think I am?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight “spoiler”; there’s discussion of the end of Hurston’s _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ in the first paragraph and again just after the prompt sentence. It’s been out for 90 years, so idk if it needs a spoiler warning, but you know.

When Alex slips into the office with Henry’s tea, he finds his boyfriend tethered to his computer by a pair of headphones, but as wildly animated as they’ll let him be. On his screen, his mum is flipping through a book, her hair held up by a pencil and her face free of makeup. She looks less like a royal and more like an excited professor, which really, could have been her life. Henry’s talking when Alex comes in with his tea, and as he sets it down, he overhears, "she’s with the doctor afterward; he has a vaccine with him! If Tea Cake really had done anything to her, she would have shown signs during the trial or the two weeks she stayed in the Everglades afterward and the doctor would have treated her-- Mum, we need to get this cleared up before we can talk about if Tea Cake really held her back on her personal journey.”

Henry spares a moment to look up and mouth ‘thank you’ as Alex slips out, then turns back to the computer. Alex leaves the door open so that David can have free reign, so he cooks dinner to the sounds of Henry’s conversation, his laughter and indignation and passion providing the best soundtrack Alex could ask for. Henry comes down a few minutes before the food is ready, and he’s all but glowing.

“How was book club?” Alex asks, and Henry grins.

“Had to set Mum straight on a few things, but it was lovely. Remind me to thank your sister for the book recommendation?”

“Of course. Which one was it?”

“Their Eyes Were Watching God? I’m not sure if you’ve read it.”

“I think I did a bit ago; want to talk about the highlights of what you and your mom covered?” Alex asks, joining Henry at the table with dinner.

“I... it’s a bit closely tied to the text; if you haven’t read it recently I don’t know how much you’ll get?”

“Hey, just how stupid do you think I am? Try me.”

Henry laughs around a bite, then says, “today’s focus was Janie’s relationship with Tea Cake, and how he compared to the other men in her life. He’s pretty clearly different in regards to the way he treats her, but we walked about whether or not he’s actually good for her personally or not. Because he is good at bringing her out of her shell, and he really pushes her to be different, but it’s not exactly a good different, or one that she’s comfortable with. He brings her into his world, and she’s happy to go along, but she doesn’t have much agency in the relationship, you know?”

Alex just stares at him for a minute as he takes a bite of dinner, trying to process once again who this man in front of him is. Henry looks up, and his face goes red instantly. “What?”

“You’re just smart, and I love you.”

Henry’s face goes even redder. “I... it’s not--”

“If you try and argue with me right now I’m going to put you on a no-fly list. Just say thank you and accept the compliment,” Alex says, and Henry laughs.

“Thank you. I always tell the kids at the shelter to accept compliments; you’d think I’d learn to practice what I preach.”

“You should. I could help you; I’ll just sit here and tell you everything I love about you until we both rot like a Hozier song.”

“Please don’t,” Henry says with a laugh. “I’d have to compliment you back, and we’d be trapped forever in a battle of kindness.”

“I like your eyes--”

“Stop. As your former ruler, I forbid you from complimenting me.”

“We had a revolution bitch; you can’t do shit to me. You have lovely eyes and a beautiful smile and I love that I can make you laugh so easily. I love that you’re letting your walls down more. I love getting to spend time with you. I love... everything about you. So much. No; don’t go! Come back!” Henry’s taken his plate and gotten up from the table, but he has to walk past Alex, which gives Alex the opportunity to grab his hand as he does. He kisses it, and Henry smiles. He sets his plate back down on the table.

“I love you. I love how you always find an excuse to hold hands or touch me-- not like that, asshole. I love your joy and your passion. I love how much you’re just yourself. I love you.”

Alex grins, pulling him back to the table and starting his own round of compliments. They spend dinner like that, trading compliments back and forth, getting increasingly ridiculous as they get up to wash dishes. Then, David starts to wander around their feet, and Henry compliments him, and as the conversation completely devolves to a celebration of David’s infinite goodness, Alex is more in love than he ever could have imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few days ago I was like “wait... Henry has a degree in English lit... and his mom got her doctorate in something that made her read Shakespeare, which was plausibly English lit... and I have a degree in English lit and miss class discussions...” so here’s Henry and his Mum having a discussion about my all time favorite English Major Book, which is by an author June canonically loves.
> 
> Also, no one asked, but Janie does not have rabies at the end of _Their Eyes Were Watching God_ , and ultimately I don’t think Tea Cake was particularly good for her but I do think that she had genuine fun with him, maybe for the first time since she was sixteen, and that’s not something to be brushed aside or ignored.   
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	37. “Is that my shirt?”/ “Stop being so cute.”

Alex is practically vibrating in the car. It’s only been two days, but he feels like he hasn’t seen Henry in forever. They’ve barely even stopped at Kensington when he’s out, taking the steps of the grand staircase two at a time, his weekender thumping against his legs. He just has time to curse Kensington for being so big when he’s getting to the door of Henry’s room. It’s open, golden light spilling out into the dark hallway. Alex kicks off his shoes and comes up quietly, leaning on the door frame

Henry’s there, the lamplight casting warm shadows on his face. He’s reading something, socked feet pulled up beside him on the big armchair, David in his lap and an ‘out of the closet’ mug resting on a coaster beside him. There are rainbow checkout cards on his socks, beagles on his pajama pants, and he’s rinsed the product out of his hair, leaving it a touch wild, but Alex knows it will be soft. He shifts the book to turn a page, and Alex sees a big red “A” that he’d recognize anywhere. Henry’s wearing an Austin High School lacrosse t-shirt. It’s a touch small on him, clinging to his biceps and chest in just the right way, but Alex can’t find it in himself to complain. He can’t find it in himself to do much at all, aside from staring at Henry, trying to take this all in and commit it to memory. A photo would never capture it, and he doesn’t want to get his phone out anyway. He wishes he could paint; this is a scene that needs to be captured in oils, not pixels. 

When he’s stared long enough, when the image of his perfect boyfriend in his natural habitat has etched itself into Alex’s soul, he asks, “is that my shirt?”

Henry looks up, a smile spreading across his lips. He finds a bookmark and sets the book down, then holds out his arms for a hug. “David’s trapping me, but hello, sweetheart. I missed you.”

“I missed you,” Alex says, coming to bend down for an approximation of a hug. He rubs David’s ears, too, and David lets out a little sleep woof. “You two are… just… I love you so much.”

“How was class?”

“Ugh, H. We’re on vacation.” Henry yawns before he can respond, and Alex smiles. “Time for bed?”

“But David,” Henry says. “He’s sleeping; I can’t move him.” He’s turned big blue eyes up to Alex, and Alex is helpless to do anything but kiss him, running his hands through Henry’s hair, which really is as soft as it looked from the doorway. 

“I’ll move him, and I’ll be gentle,” he says, and Henry watches as he carefully lifts David, carrying him to a dog bed next to the chair. They both watch for a bit as David settles in, his paws twitching as he runs in a dream. Then Henry holds his arms up again, and Alex goes to pull him up and into a hug, Henry nuzzling into his hair as Alex presses a kiss to the place where Henry’s shoulder meets his neck. 

“Tired,” Henry says, and Alex chuckles a bit.

“I bet; it’s late. We’ll get you to bed, then I’ll change and be there.”

Henry mumbles his agreement, and Alex half carries him to the bed, where Henry curls up on top of the blankets because “that way if I fall asleep and you’re not here, I’ll wake up and then I can fall asleep with you.”

Alex is surprised he can still lean in and press a kiss to Henry’s forehead, seeing how his heart has exploded. He changes and brushes his teeth as quickly as he can, and then he’s digging a big southwest blanket out of his bag and going to find Henry still somewhat awake on top of the sheets. Alex comes to rest beside him, pulling the new blanket over both of them, and Henry cuddles up in it. The sight of Henry, so cozy in so many trappings of Texas, does something to Alex’s insides.

“Hey, H? Can you do something for me?” Alex whispers, and Henry nods, yawning. “Stop being so cute.”

Henry laughs a bit and just cuddles in closer to Alex, kissing his forehead. “No.”

“You’re a menace,” Alex tells him, and Henry hums, smiling. He has the audacity to run his fingers through Alex’s hair, and the audacity to fall asleep cradling Alex’s head, and with how much Alex’s heart has grown, he’s surprised his lungs have room to breathe as he falls asleep, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my muse and savior, the OG lesbian, Sappho, for possessing me and writing this tooth-rotting fluff through me.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	38. “About the baby… Its yours.” / “Do you believe in aliens?” / “Do you believe in ghosts?”

The campfire crackles, and Alex moves the flashlight under his chin, trying to find the perfect angle to throw spooky shadows over his face without making it hard to see the others’ faces.

“And Henry... About the baby... it’s yours.” With that, he pulls up his hoodie, and David wriggles out as Alex screams dramatically and Henry laughs, calling David into his lap. The others groan, and Alex passes the flashlight to Nora for her scary story. Upon discovery of the fact that the royals and Pez have never actually gone camping, they’ve taken a weekend to visit Nora’s parents’ cabin, but on their and Nora’s assistance, have set up tents in the back yard for the “full camping experience”. They’ve roasted marshmallows, and Alex has kissed the chocolatey marshmallow bits off Henry’s face. Pez had tried to make a quadruple layer s’more and failed spectacularly, but he’d failed entertainingly, which is perhaps more important. Nora’d been more than willing to help him try again, and they had while June went to get wet paper towels to clean up, and between the two of them they’d had a massive s’more to shove in her face when she got back. Bea, ever the innovator and trendsetter, substituted curly whirlys for her chocolate, and they’d all filled up before settling around the fire to tell scary stories for the tradition.

Nora’s telling a story, something that must be appropriately scary and funny, but Alex is more interested in cuddling up next to Henry, David between them. Eventually, the fire dies down and the others turn in, June warning Alex that if she can hear him and Henry that night she’ll personally put a rock under his sleeping bag and Pez laughing as he tugs his partners into their tent. Bea turns in on her own, telling them she’ll see them in the morning and leaving them to find a nice space to lie down and look at the stars. Henry points out constellations, noting which ones are planets, not stars.

“Think there’s anyone else out there?” Alex asks, staring out at the sky.

“I think there must be. What about you? Do you believe in aliens?”

“I think so. Not like the movies, but somewhere. Space is so big.”

Henry hums in agreement, then adds, “and ever expanding. We keep learning more. They found something that might be life on one of Saturn’s moons.”

“What about ghosts? Do you believe in ghosts?” Alex asks, and Henry shakes his head.

“Not really. I think if they were real, we’d hear a lot more about them, or at least more consistently. You?”

“I don’t want to, but then something happens and I’m fully convinced. I think it’s the Catholic background-- they tell you there are spirits everywhere and that’s hard to shake.”

Henry laughs, moving his head closer to Alex’s. Alex runs his fingers through Henry’s hair, and David, lying between them, lets out a snort that makes Henry laugh again.

“This is nice,” Henry says after a bit. “Just... all of us together, hanging out. I missed it.”

“Me, too. And it’s nice to not have anything we’re supposed to do. I mean, camping and hiking and things, but nothing work wise. It’s nice having Bea and Pez here for a vacation, not a work event or anything.” He’s rambling now, and Henry leans over to kiss his cheek.

“Ready for bed?” he asks, and Alex is about to agree when there’s a shooting star. He gasps, looking to see if Henry saw it, then another shoots above them.

“The Perseids,” Henry says, reverently. “It’s a meteor shower. I had no idea we’d be able to see them.”

Alex shakes his head a bit, cuddling closer to Henry. “Think we should get the others?”

“They should be out tomorrow, too,” Henry says. “Meteor showers are like that.”

So Alex smiles, cuddling in next to his boyfriend with their dog between them, kissing Henry’s cheek and watching the meteors shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	39. “I don’t deserve to be loved.”

It’s not often that Henry comes home to a quiet house. Really, it’s not often that the brownstone is quiet. It’s something Henry loves about it; he loves coming home to Alex singing in the kitchen or watching TV or drumming his pen on the desk in their front office. If nothing else, he’ll usually have David’s feet on the hardwood to welcome him home, or something playing from the record player in the living room. But today, the house is quiet.

He finds Alex upstairs, sitting in the library with David curled up on his lap. He’s just staring out the window, but Henry can see the corner of a list poking out from under the cushion of their window seat. David and Alex both look up as he pushes open the door, and Alex smiles a bit. Still, he’s not happy.

“Hello, love,” Henry says, coming to join him on the window seat. He sits with Alex’s feet in his lap, but Alex moves closer to him almost immediately, leaning against him as Henry wraps his arm around Alex’s shoulders.

“Hi.” Alex’s voice is smaller than it should be, and Henry just rubs his shoulder a bit.

“Want to talk about it?” He asks, and Alex sighs.

“Someone... It’s stupid, but someone put together a big video of me and June and Nora, one of those ‘five minutes of the white house trio being themselves’ things, and all of mine were me being... you know, the fun one. The dumbass, really. And the comments were all... it was lots of people talking about how they like me, or they look up to me or whatever, but Hen, I... I don’t deserve that. I’m not... the girls are so good at what they do, and so smart and independent, but everything I’m doing is because of my parents. I’m only an inspiration or whatever because my mom is the president, or sometimes because I’m dating you, not because I’ve actually done anything to deserve it. I just... I don’t deserve to be loved, at least not like this. And if I ever do, I want it to be because I did something, not because of who my mom or my boyfriend is.”

Henry hugs him close, kissing his temple before he says, “You have done things, love. You’ve done so many incredible things. Maybe you have the position that you do because of your mum, but that doesn’t mean you haven’t used it incredibly well.”

“Maybe, but... June and Nora are doing more. Nora was bi the whole time, for both campaigns; she didn’t try to hide it or... or anything like that. And June is just... she’s so smart, and she never wanted any of this but you could never tell; she’s out there setting trends and writing books and everything. Nora’s going to be some incredible data czar; everyone knows she’s fucking brilliant. They’re both so smart and clever and... and so amazing, and then there’s me, and I’m not supposed to have to try, but I do have to, and even then everything i get is because of my mom.”

“That’s not true, sweetheart. You’re working so hard, I see it, and that’s what’s getting you where you want to go. Just because you’re still working on it doesn’t mean you won’t get there, and you’re already making the world better for so many people. Think about the work you did on that family’s immigration case last year? Or how you helped the congresswoman you interned with get her own committee? Those are things you did, not because you’re the president’s son, but because you’re a smart man who works hard and cares about everything he does. That’s what makes you an inspiration, not that you’re queer in the public eye. If you were bi and people saw you, but all they saw was you being an ass, that wouldn’t be inspiring for anyone.” Alex laughs a bit, and Henry smiles, running his hand through Alex’s hair. Alex leans his head on Henry’s shoulder, and Henry smiles. “You are incredible, truly. I’ve thought so since the moment I met you, and each moment I spend with you just convinces me more. I am so in awe of you.”

“Even when I’m a dumbass?”

“Especially when you’re a dumbass. The fact that you’re able to let go and be every part of yourself in public is beautiful. I wish I had half the confidence you have, even when you’re being a dumbass.”

“You weren’t supposed to make it cute,” Alex mutters into Henry’s neck, and Henry laughs, rubbing his back.

“I love you, and I have a whole college degree in making words mean what I want them to. It’s my job to make things cute.” He can feel Alex smile against his shoulder, and he asks, “Want to impress me by teaching me to make something tonight? I know you talked about homemade tortillas, we could do our own tacos or burritos?”

“That sounds good. This... this is a good day for homemade tacos.”

Henry smiles and gets him up, pressing a few more kisses to his temple and forehead before Alex grabs him and kisses him for real. David leads them downstairs, and Henry spends the rest of the night reassuring Alex that he’s amazing as they fill up on homemade tacos and tortillas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I recycle this idea for another fic about Alex's imposter syndrome around midterm season no one's allowed to say anything; that's my business.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	40. Alex the Cat Dad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [This piece Ukiyosplash on Deviantart did for chapter 34 of this collection is absolutely incredible and I love it so much it inspired this](https://www.deviantart.com/ukiyosplash/art/Alex-the-cat-dad-849560530)
> 
> If you haven't read chapter 34, just know that Alex and Henry fostered five kittens, and Zest was the one they couldn't give up
> 
> [UPDATE THERE IS MORE ART OF THE BOY](https://www.deviantart.com/ukiyosplash/art/Zest-851020942)

Alex has pretty much given up on trying to fix his sleep schedule. He's tried basically everything: avoiding coffee before bed, getting up early, even having Henry cajole him into bed at a decent time. None of it works. Henry is too easy to distract, and his sleep schedule is almost as bad as Alex's. Even when he could get to bed on time, they tend to use that extra time more effectively than sleeping. The coffee thing was an entire disaster, and when he wakes up earlier, he's just more tired in the morning. It's the worst on days when he's home alone, or on weekends when he's on his own schedule. He'll get wrapped up in something and forget to eat, or he'll nap in the middle of the day and not be tired when it's time for bed. He can turn alarms off too easily, and he can't ask someone to babysit or check in on him. Even David's not great at keeping him on a schedule, and he tends to go to England with Henry when they can anyway. At this point, Alex has just accepted that he's not going to be the most functional human on the planet. After all, he's tried everything.

What he hasn't tried is a cat. Specifically a cat who is very vocal, very social, and apparently able to read clocks. The first day he and Zest are home alone together, they play some, then Zest joins him in the office. He's got a bed on Alex's desk, so he naps there while Alex works, occasionally balancing a paper on his head or a business card against his paw. He sleeps until noon, when he stretches, toppling the senator's business card that Alex has balanced against him. His foot gets caught on his bed, and he almost falls over before Alex leans over to help him escape. From there, Zest's primary goal in life seems to be causing problems. He starts small, batting at Alex's charger and his hands as he types, then he upgrades to yelling, walking to the door and back until Alex sighs, gets up, and follows him. Zest leads the way to the kitchen, then sits on a counter (where he's technically not allowed, but Alex doesn't mind), and stares at him until Alex gets together a sandwich. 

"Are you... are you babysitting me?" Alex asks. Zest chirps in agreement, and Alex laughs, scratching under his chin the way he likes. Zest purrs, hopping up onto Alex's shoulders. He's too big to perch up there like a parrot anymore, so he wraps himself around Alex’s neck instead, purring. Alex gives his ears a scratch and brings his lunch and a glass of water back up to the office to keep working, and Zest falls asleep draped around Alex’s neck, kneading sleepy little biscuits into Alex’s shoulder while he eats and answers emails. He sends Henry a snap of the two of them, Zest's sleepy face curled up next to his smiling one. Henry replies quickly, a picture of himself and David on a rug in Kensington, and Alex video calls him. Henry picks up almost immediately, his face appearing on Alex's laptop. He's lying on the floor, David cuddled to his side. They look cozy, or at least as cozy as they ever look when they’re there alone. Henry smiles when he sees them, a tired smile that’s so full of love it makes Alex’s heart skip a beat. 

“I swear this cat can read clocks,” Alex says, by way of introduction. “He started being a little asshole at exactly noon today.”

“Aww, is he looking after you?” Henry asks, grinning. Alex sighs. 

“I don’t even… he just took me downstairs for lunch. Like he took me to the kitchen and then sat on the cou— I mean, he sat—“

“Alex, you both know he’s not allowed on the counter! You’re going to teach him bad habits.” 

“Hen, I don’t think I can teach this cat anything. It took him two weeks to learn where his food bowl is, and he still steps into his water dish and then gets mad that his paws are wet. I adore him, but his head is just air. Air and apparently a clock to babysit me with. He took me down to the kitchen and just sat and watched me make a sandwich.”

Henry laughs at that, relaxing a bit. David moves his head to Henry’s arm, and Henry rubs his ears. 

“How are things there?” Alex asks, and Henry shrugs. 

“You know. Not awful, not great. I miss you.”

“It was meetings today, right? Anything you want to talk about?”

So they chat about new policies the royal family is moving toward, and the wyas that royal support will influence different things, how rules might shift or policies might change. Zest wakes up about halfway through their call to yawn and stretch, nearly toppling backward off Alex’s shoulders as he unbalances himself. Alex catches him just in time as Henry laughs, and Zest starts to purr directly into Alex’s ear. It’s only then that Alex realizes how much tension he’s carrying in his shoulders and lets them relax a bit. Zest makes biscuits in his shoulder, and Henry keeps talking about their plans, but Alex isn’t quite as tense. Henry has to go to dinner eventually, but he seems lighter, and happier, too. He’s laughed at Zest, and he’s gotten some things off his chest, and as he fixes his tie and his hair in the little window that lets him see himself, Alex gets to experience one of his favorite things even across an ocean. 

He gets to watch Henry fuss with his hair, gets to watch him tie and retie a tie until it’s just right, gets to watch him make sure everything looks just right before he says goodbye and presents himself to the British public. When he hangs up, Alex scratches Zest’s ears, then turns back to his computer and the maps he’s pulled up. Maps of states whose voter demographics and popular vote don’t match their electoral one, maps covered in ink-blot districts and red tape. And he gets to work, looking into state laws and bylaws to figure out how to fix it. How to let each state represent itself the way he knows they want to, how to help them show the world their souls the way Texas could in 2020. He makes lists of local organizers to call, and governors to pressure to restore stripped voting rights. He tweets something about the situation in Iowa and dms an activist from Florida on twitter to see if there’s anything he can do to help them. And when he’s overwhelmed enough that Zest wakes up to purr in his ear again, he gets up and goes for a run, his feet pounding the pavement and his music blasting in his ears as he works off all the pent-up rage he’s been harboring against old white men with names like “Elbridge” who destroyed communities for their own gain. 

When he gets home, dripping sweat and panting, Zest is there to watch him stretch, then to sit next to the sink and scream until Alex gets himself some water. He’d been planning on showering first, but Zest will have none of it, and it turns out he’s right-- the headache that had been threatening to burst from the base of his skull recedes, washed down as he hydrates and pets the cat, leaving bits of fur stuck to his damp hands. Zest doesn’t seem to miss the fur; he wanders between Alex’s legs, leaving more stuck to the sweat there before Alex bends down to scratch his ears and follow him, giving him all the attention he needs. After all, no one has been home with him for almost an hour, and he can see a tiny sliver of the bottom of his food dish. It’s a miracle he hasn’t starved to death by now, and he desperately needs Alex to shake the bowl a little bit so that the bottom is solidly covered. Alex is more than happy to oblige, rolling his eyes as he does. Zest doesn’t even eat any of the food, just curls up on David’s bed while Alex goes to take a shower.

When Alex comes out of the shower, he’s in the middle of towel drying his hair and almost trips over the cat who’s decided he absolutely _needs_ to be right in the middle of the doorway. Zest yowls in surprise, turning to run for the bed, where he can safely glare at Alex for nearly stepping in the middle of the floor. 

“Listen, dumbass, what do you want from me? I didn’t see you; I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?” He’s pulled on Henry’s shirt now and goes to lie on the bed next to Zest, who turns his back, hops down, and walks to the door, tail swishing. Once there, he stops and looks back at Alex expectantly, all memory of their near-collision apparently gone. He meows, and Alex sighs and follows him. Zest leads him downstairs and settles directly next to the stove’s clock. It’s dinner time, and Zest is not going to let Alex get away with procrastinating it any longer. He makes dinner under the cat’s watchful eye, then follows his meowing little boss to the living room couch. He picks an animal planet show, because that seems like something Zest will like, and a few minutes later, Zest has dragged his food bowl into the living room to eat with Alex. He sends a picture of that to Henry, too, telling him they miss him and David at their family dinner. 

When dinner’s done and the dishes are washed, Alex is going to go back upstairs to the office to work, but Zest won’t hear of it. He stays on the couch and complains so loudly that Alex has no choice but to bring his laptop down and sit on the couch, and Zest promptly drapes himself across the keyboard, looking up at Alex with big eyes.

“You’re worse than Henry, you know that?” Alex asks, scratching between Zest’s ears. Zest just purrs, letting Alex pick him up so that he can close the laptop and settle the cat on his lap instead. Absently, he digs around under the coffee table for yarn-- Henry’s been teaching him how to knit, giving him something to keep his hands busy when he’s not supposed to be working, and he’s not very good at it, but it helps. Zest bats at the yarn lazily, but his claws are in. He watches through half-closed eyes as Alex knits, the TV playing in the background as Alex very consciously focuses on the yarn and needles in his hands, the ways they move and the way the lumpy, holey… thing draping off them grows. He’ll call it a scarf and give it to Henry for Christmas as a joke. 

Zest largely ignores him for a while, dozing intermittently as Alex focuses and the TV plays. But at 11 PM exactly, Zest wakes up, stretches, and begins to bat at the yarn in earnest, meowing at Alex until Alex puts the yarn away, and Zest hops off his lap and twists around his legs until Alex is up and following him, and they go up the stairs to the bedroom, where Zest sits on the bed and turns to look at him. Alex rolls his eyes and grabs his pajamas, going to brush his teeth. When he comes back, Zest is curled up on Henry’s side of the bed, and Alex smiles as he gets to climb in next to him, because going to sleep without Henry is never fun, but at least the bed isn’t empty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	41. 'listening to someones heartbeat or breathing'

_Henry is running. Alex is in trouble. He doesn’t know anything else, but the two things he knows, he knows with crystal clarity. Alex is in trouble, and he has to keep running._

_It feels like he’s been running for years. His whole body aches, his heart sending panicked thuds through it in an attempt to keep him moving as his lungs gasp for more and more air. His mouth is dry, but he can’t stop. Alex needs him._

_He rounds a corner, barely keeping his footing. Alex is crying. He’d know that cry anywhere; it’s Alex. He’s scared. Henry forces himself further, faster and faster, ignoring the exhaustion to push himself on. When he sees Alex, sitting in a chair and apparently fine, Henry slows. His whole body is shaking, and it’s all he can do to get beside Alex before collapsing at his feet._

_Alex smiles down at him, and there’s something wrong with that smile. “I love you, H. Always,” he says._

_“I… I love…” He’s panting too hard to get it out, and Alex just presses a kiss to his forehead. That’s when Henry sees the blood on his shirt, slowly blooming out from his chest. When Alex pulls away, it’s on his face, too, pouring from under his bangs as new cuts tear open before Henry’s eyes. He wants to scream, but it comes out more like a sob. He wants to get up, to hug Alex, or to find help, or to do something, but he can’t move._

_Alex opens his mouth, but all that comes out is a wave of blood, pouring over them both as Alex slumps forward, toppling off the chair and into Henry’s lap, slowly going cold._

Henry sits bolt upright in bed, still gasping for air. His shirt is drenched, his heart racing. He barely has his eyes open before he slams them shut again. He can’t see Alex hurt, not again. He pats the bed frantically, only daring to look when his hand finds Alex’s bare shoulder, warm as ever, slowly rising and falling. When he finds his boyfriend’s face, blood-free and peaceful in sleep, it’s all he can do not to sob. Slowly, carefully, trying his hardest not to wake him, Henry moves Alex’s hair from his forehead. No blood. He runs shaking fingers lightly across Alex’s face, then down to his bare chest, eyes staining through the darkness to inspect every inch of him for blood or gore or even the slightest hint of pain. Alex looks fine, but then his eyebrows crease slightly, his arm reaching out. He doesn’t seem hurt, exactly, but he’s upset, and that in itself is enough to make Henry sob. He can’t stop it this time; it’s been building in his chest since he woke up, and he barely gets a hand up in time to muffle it. Still, it’s not quiet enough. At the end of the bed, he sees David’s head appear, and he knows it’s only a matter of time before he comes up to make sure everything is okay, probably waking Alex in the process.

Henry is so worried about David that when Alex’s hand finds his hip, he jumps. His heart pounds as he looks over to see Alex just waking up, rubbing at his eyes with a bit of a yawn.

“Hen? Wha...”

“I’m fine. I’m... I’m fine. It’s nothing,” Henry says. It’s too fast; he can tell. He’s mostly hidden the shake in his voice, but it’s still not normal or right. He forces a shaky breath and tries again. “I’m... I had a dream. That’s all. I’m fine; go back to sleep.”

Alex frowns, then gently tugs Henry back to the mattress, wrapping him in a hug. Henry can feel the beat of Alex’s heart, steady and there and so vibrantly alive that it makes him cry.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I’m here,” Alex murmurs. “It’s okay.”

“I... I dreamed you...” Henry tries, but Alex shushes him, a hand running through his hair. Henry just tries to get in a deep breath, burying his face in Alex’s chest.

“It’s okay. I’m here; I love you,” Alex says gently. “Do you think... here, I’m going to take some deep breaths, okay? And you can copy me to help you calm down a bit so you can sleep?”

Henry manages a nod, and when Alex takes a deep breath, Henry mirrors it as best he can. He feels a kiss to the top of his head as he does, and a moment later, David’s head is on his shoulder. Alex’s arm moves, and David’s tags jingle as Alex pets him, Henry still held close. Alex takes another deep breath, and on the exhale, he murmurs, “Good boy, David. We’re going to take good care of Henry, huh?”

Henry lets out a short, breathy laugh, and Alex hugs him closer, pressing another kiss to the top of his head. “We’re going to keep you safe, I promise. If any other nightmares come for you, I’ll fight them off.”

“I love you,” Henry murmurs into Alex’s chest. He presses a kiss just between his pecs, and because he’s so close, he can just hear Alex’s heart speed up a bit.

“I love you so, so much.” Alex’s tone is one Henry can only describe as reverent, and it’s so quietly tender that he can’t do anything but pull away a fraction, just enough that he can reach up and kiss Alex’s jaw. Alex looks down at him with a smile, pressing a kiss to his forehead before pulling Henry impossibly closer.

“Go back to sleep, baby; I’m here,“ he says, and Henry hums, letting himself relax in Alex’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	42. Inside Jokes

Alex is waiting on the tarmac when Henry steps off the plane, and it's a few short steps until he's in his boyfriend's arms, breathing in Alex's scent and feeling himself relax. 

"I'm going to have you put on a no-fly list," Alex mumbles in his ear, earning a tired laugh from Henry. "Ten days is too long for you to be there without me. I need you here."

"Right now, I'm not sure I'd be entirely opposed. I missed you."

Alex just hums, and Henry smiles, gently steering them toward the waiting car. Cash will be patient, but David's nose is sniffing frantically out the window, and Henry's ready to get home. He's missed Alex, and David, but he's missed the brownstone and the shelter and their life here just as much. When Alex eventually lets go, he opens the door of the car, and David comes out to jump directly into Henry's arms. Henry laughs as he catches him, petting him while Alex asks Cash something. Cash laughs, but Henry's a bit too focused on David to know what exaclty the question was. Besides, Alex is back before long, wrapping an arm around Henry's waist and kissing him before they climb into the car.

They've got an event at the shelter that night, officially a publicity event for Henry's upcoming book but unofficially a welcome back party. The kids are there, and he gets to hear about Sam's math test and Lilly's volleyball game and everything else he missed. He's in the middle of talking to Jack about his cross country meet when Owen appears and just hugs him. He hugs them back while he finishes talking to Jack, and when he's done, they say, "You were gone for too long."

"I know," he says. "Our next letter writing campaign will be to my publisher; we'll make them give me shorter UK tours."

"Or, I'll just put you on a no-fly list," Alex says, grinning as he hands Henry a drink. "Can't leave us again if you're legally not allowed to fly."

Owen grins at that, stepping back to introduce themself to Alex before finding a friend in the crowd. Henry lets it slide, enjoying the party and being back with everyone. 

The next evening, when he comes home to find Alex talking on the phone, he doesn’t think anything of it. At least, he doesn’t until the next morning, when he gets a call from Shaan, who’s supposed to be taking a few days off in DC to spend with Zahra and recover from the tour. Henry’s taken a half day at work, and Alex has mostly afternoon classes, so they’re enjoying a casual brunch when he answers, putting Shaan on speaker. 

“Hello?”

“Sir? Do you want to tell me why I’ve just gotten notice that neither of us are allowed to leave the United States?” 

Alex just starts to laugh across the table, and Shaan just sighs. “I’ll let the two of you work it out.”

Henry thanks him, apologizes at least twice, then hangs up and turns to Alex incredulously. 

“Did you...”

“I said I’d put you on a no fly list,” Alex says, laughing. “I told you. You’re not allowed to leave me for the next month. No flying off across the world and leaving me behind; I miss you too much.” 

“You’re ridiculous. Does Shaan know it’s just for a month?” 

“He should; I’ll text him to make sure. I didn’t know they’d tell y’all,” Alex says, and Henry just rolls his eyes. 

“I love you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know. You’re not allowed to. I put you on a no-fly list.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	43. helping elderly voters do their thing

It turns out, as the president's son, there's not much Alex can do on the day of an election. He's not allowed to work at a polling place, because he could sway votes. He's not allowed to officially drive people to the polls, because he could tell them how to vote on the way there. Aside from that, he's expected at election parties and rallies throughout the day, scheduled for interviews and appearances almost back to back.

As the heir to a foreign throne, Henry is even more discouraged from participating on election day. He's not technically disallowed, but on Zahra's advice, he's refrained from signing up for voter registration drives or other events. Still, there's nothing telling them they're not allowed to talk to their neighbors. There's nothing stopping them from taking David on a long walk and asking everyone they see if they've registered to vote, and if they haven't, there's nothing illegal or wrong about Alex just happening to have voter registration forms in his bag. And when they just so happen to be going to an early voting location, there's no rule saying they can't bring Nancy from next door along with them.

She's tickled that they've thought of her, and keeps asking them about their plans for election day as they head to the car. Alex has never actually found out if she knows who they are; she knows he's involved in politics but has never asked more. He tells her they'll be at a party at the White House, and she coos about how that will be so nice, and it's so lovely to see young people involved in politics, and maybe she could send a plate of cookies with them, because she does so love President Claremont.

They're in the car when Henry asks her about her first time voting, and she gives him the sweetest smile. “Ooh, I think it would have to be 1984. I registered so I could vote out Reagan, that murderous son of a—“ 

Alex glances over at Henry in time to see his face light up. 

“I had to become a citizen first, you know, since I only moved here to live with my friend Betty in college. She was a firey one; you boys would have liked her. Always on the front lines in those days; staring down police officers and things. She played softball for years and had an arm on her like you wouldn't believe; she could throw a molotov like no one's business."

"It sounds like you were pretty politically active when you were younger," Alex says, and she turns pink.

"Oh, I don't know. I had to be careful at those things when I was a student; I could have been sent back to England if I wasn't careful. I helped out as a medic, though. Either of you boys ever hurt yourselves, you come straight to me, alright? I was a nurse for years."

"And if you ever miss the UK, you're welcome at ours," Henry says. "We typically keep jaffa cakes and some other sweets around the house."

"Oh that sounds lovely. Thank you boys ever so much for driving me here."

"It's not a problem, ma'am. You have a good time in there, and we'll be here when you're ready to go home."

She thanks them again, and when she disappears inside the building, Henry turns to Alex with an incredulous smile.

"I love her. I love her so much."

"God; she's such a badass," Alex says, grinning as he parks the car.

"I should interview her for my book, or maybe ask her to read a draft. If she was at protests in school, and a nurse in the '80s, she probably knows so much of our history."

"And she left England to be with her partner. Just like you," Alex says, and Henry grins. He's about to say something sweet when Alex adds, "When I'm dead, tell people I could throw molotovs like no one's buisness, okay? That's badass; I want to be remembered like that."

Henry's laughter fills the car, and he's still chuckling when they see Nancy come out of the polling place, a big smile on her face and an "I voted!" sticker on her shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this request was technically for something cute, but the coolest people I know are a badass old lesbian couple who've fought cops, so I got sidetracked lol.  
> \--  
> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


	44. first cold snap of winter

Alex is in the kitchen, stirring a pot of soup when he hears their front door open and close. He smiles almost automatically, a Pavlovian response to the sound of Henry's footsteps on the hardwood. He comes straight to the kitchen, and before Alex can even turn around, Henry's wrapping himself around Alex like a baby monkey made of ice; his frozen hands slipping under Alex's shirt and his iceberg nose nuzzling into the crook of Alex's neck. Alex squawks in protest, but Henry just sighs, pulling him closer.

"It's bloody Baltic out there. It was not that cold when I left this morning."

"Sweetheart, the forecast called for snow. Did you not bring a coat with you?"

"Well, when the forecast calls for snow but the morning is warm, excuse me for thinking the forecast might be wrong. I barely knew it could get that bloody cold here."

"Oh, baby," Alex says, turning to wrap him in a hug. He really is cold to the touch, all but melting into Alex as he hugs him close. He lets out a contented sigh, and Alex laughs a bit, still reveling in the fact that they get to do this. "I've got soup on the stove, and we can do hot chocolate and a movie night tonight, okay? Maybe a warm bath? I think we've still got some bath bombs from Nora."

"I'd like that," Henry says, and Alex smiles.

"Okay. Want to dish up soup while I go put blankets in the drier to get them all warm?"

Henry nods into his shoulder, but only complains a tiny bit when Alex peels away. He goes to collect all their fluffy blankets, the robes Nora got them as a housewarming gift, and Henry's slippers, putting them in the drier to warm up. Once that's done, he goes to hunt through their bathroom for a bath bomb, setting it and the nice bottle of wine he's smuggled up next to the tub. It's Henry's first cold day in New York, after all; they have to make up for it. So they'll cuddle on the couch and watch _Bake Off_ during dinner, their warm blankets and robes and soup making up for the initial cold. Then they'll come up here, and they'll run a warm bath, and they'll finish warming up.

When the drier finishes, he scoops out armfuls of warmth and carries them down to the couch. Henry's already there with two mugs of cocoa and bowls of soup on the coffee table in front of him, and when Alex drops the pile of blankets and robes and slippers onto his lap, he just burrows into it with a sigh, staying cuddled up for a moment before he starts sorting through to find their favorite blanket. Alex just smiles watching him nest, David curled up beside him, until Henry pulls him onto the couch. He cuddles up next to his boyfriend, and Henry hands him a bowl of soup, grabbing his own as he presses play, bringing them into the world of biscuits and cakes that is _Bake Off_.

They spend the episode cuddled up together, eating soup as Alex drops occasional kisses to Henry's face. When it ends and Alex cancels the autoplay, Henry looks surprised, but Alex just escapes from the blankets and, with a kiss to Henry's forehead, takes their bowls up to the kitchen and starts the bath. Only once it's warm and the tub is filling does he go back to find Henry, wrapping him in blankets before bundling him upstairs and to their bathroom. Henry sees the wine, and the drawn bath, and lets out a contented sigh before he even touches the water.

“I love you. I love that you’re a human heater, and that you’re so good at knowing how to make things better. Even that you had the soup already cooking; it’s... I just love how well you care for me. Thank you,” Henry says, and Alex blushes. 

“In fairness, I started the soup before I knew you’d left your coat. Really, it’s all just an elaborate ruse to see you naked,” he says, though they both know it’s a lie. “I asked the weather gods for snow just so I could share a hot bath with you.”

Henry laughs at that, and Alex comes closer to kiss him. He presses kisses up Henry’s neck, and when he’s beside his ear, he murmurs, “I love you, too,” relishing the way it makes Henry shiver.

They cuddle up together, watching the bath bomb fizzle with Henry's back pressed against Alex's chest, Alex's arms wrapped around him. Alex pours them wine, and Henry toasts to their first real snow day as they muse about how bad the roads will be tomorrow. Alex wonders how bad they'll have to get before he can skip his classes, and Henry decides that if NYU decides it's too dangerous to drive, he'll have to tell office staff at the shelter to stay home if they want. Maybe tomorrow, they'll be able to stay in, drinking hot cocoa and cuddling under blankets while life happens outside. When the water goes cold they move to their bed, watching snow fall outside, letting the quiet magic of a first snow lul them to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I'm [HMS-Chill](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hms-chill) on tumblr for fic stuff, and I'd love to chat either there or here. Thanks y'all!


End file.
